NEW BRUNSWICK — They came to Rutgers by the dozens on Saturday. Some hoping for answers about where their loved ones were while some had gotten their questions answered, even if it wasn't the answers they were hoping for.

The Missing Person's Day event hosted by the New Jersey State Police brought people together whose only common links may have been the fact that people they loved were gone without knowing where they were.

Tyrita Julius' mother was one of the speakers at the event who talked about her daughter who went missing in May of last year. Julius' body was found in a Long Branch home in August. Her friends Jennifer Sweeney, 32, of Tinton Falls, and Andre Harris, 32, of Long Branch, were indicted on a total of nine counts including first-degree murder in December of last year.

"It is here where families of the missing can lean on each other for support and be reminded that there is always hope that their missing loved ones will one day be found," the State Police said on their Facebook page.

For the families of people like Julius, their loved ones might be missing for a matter of months. On the other side of the spectrum, there are people like Maureen Himebaugh, whose son has been missing for decades. No matter how long they have been looking for their family and friends, the pain they feel and the hope they have for finding them united them on the college campus.

As part of the event, family members could bring information about their loved ones' cases to be entered in to the National Information Crime Center, and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons (NAMUS) system. They could also give a DNA sample to help in the search efforts.

State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes and Attorney General Christopher Porrino were among the law enforcement personnel in attendance at an event, which also featured a candlelight vigil in honor of the thousands of missing people in New Jersey and elsewhere.

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