Family makes renewed plea as Billy Smolinski missing person case marks 20 years

Saturday marks 20 years since Billy Smolinski went missing from his home on Holly Street in Waterbury.

The date was Aug. 24, 2004. Decades later, some are still searching and they say areas of interest are some of the same areas impacted by recent flooding.

It’s leading to a call from Smolinski's family, to keep your eyes open as that area recovers.

In a Facebook post, Janice Smolinski offers a unique perspective to the storm recovery she believes is important, not just for her son's case, but others in the same area that are missing a loved one.

“It is important to never lose hope, even though it has been 20 years, it was like it was just yesterday for the family of this missing loved one,” Marissa Wright, of Goshen, said.

She has been aiding in the search process for over a decade and hasn’t lost hope.

“There have been so many tips that have come in,” she said.

Billy’s family still doesn’t have clear answers about what happened, but they are living in a reality Billy is dead, according to his mom.

But they are still searching for clues, and looking for remains that they believe, along with investigators, could be in the Naugatuck Valley.

“It is definitely not easy work, it takes hours to go through an area,” Wright said.

Recent catastrophic flooding in sections of the Valley prompted a plea from Smolinski’s family in a Facebook post.

 “Some of these areas were areas where police were looking into,” Billy's mother Janice Smolinski said.

She continues to keep the faith he will be found. She is hopeful where roadways or riverbanks eroded, human remains could reside.

“I do feel sorry for these families and all their tremendous heartache they are going through, losing, but sometimes a bad situation can bring a better situation,” she said.

She is asking that as clean up and recovery continues, people look for anything human related. It could bring much-needed closure to her family or others.

“We just want resolution,” she said.

Wright plans to mark the somber day with some searching of her own. She, too, asks her neighbors to do the same.

“Please keep their eyes open, especially in places like that, it’s really, really critical,” Wright said.

Waterbury police are the lead agency on the investigation. They said they continue to follow up on relevant leads or information related to this case.

If anyone has any information, you are encouraged to reach out.