The family of a former Elyria woman who went missing from the Wooster area is hosting a community awareness event to mark the first anniversary of the woman’s disappearance.

Susan Ryan was 58 when she disappeared last June. Up until January 2010, Ryan lived in Elyria with her family, and police originally thought she might come back to this area.

Additional details of her disappearance are scant. Police only know Ryan left a friend’s home where she was staying near Saybolt Avenue and West Liberty Street in Wooster. Police said Ryan left her belongings, including cell phone, purse and credit cards, along with money to care for her dog and directions on how to dispose of her belongings.

She may have been carrying a gun. However, her family doesn’t necessarily believe that last part is true.

“We’re not sure if she got rid of the gun or what happened to it, but at this point I guess anything is possible,” said daughter Helen Zimmel. “Just leaving was so much out of character for her.”

The event to raise awareness about Ryan’s continued absence will be noon to 5 p.m. June 5 at the Christmas Run Park, 700 N. Grant St., Wooster. Zimmel said she will be there, and the families of other missing persons from the area will speak about the agony of not knowing where their loved ones are.

In this country, thousands of adults go missing each year but do not receive as much attention as missing children. Zimmel said she would like that to change.

“This is an epidemic in America that goes unnoticed,” she said. “I know it’s not illegal to go missing, so a lot of cases go unreported, but this could be anyone’s mom. This is not just some random person.”

To keep her mother’s name in the public arena, Zimmel has basically quit working to dedicate herself to finding her mother.

“Between this and my husband’s deployment, there was no way with the mental strain I have been able to work,” she said. “I have been focusing 100 percent on the case. I’ve become my own Internet detective. I spend about four hours a day making phone calls, calling hospitals and talking to people who may have known her before she disappeared. I’m making T-shirts, bracelets and buttons — anything to just keep her name out there.”

Zimmel describes her mother as a homebody and very religious. Ryan is white, 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs about 110 pounds, has brown hair, blue eyes, wears glasses and is a heavy smoker. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and sneakers. She does not own a car.

Anyone with information about Ryan is asked to contact Wooster police at (330) 287-5700 or email susanryanmissing@aol.com. A Facebook page, “Missing Susan Ryan,” has been set up and offers additional information on missing persons cases.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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