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Crime & Safety: Police seek leads in missing person case


NORWICH -- Norwich police detectives continue to seek assistance in locating a missing Norwich woman.

Erika M. Cirioni, 26, was last seen on Division Street in Norwich Dec. 31. Cirioni is a 5-foot 7-inch white female who weighs approximately 158 pounds with red hair and blue eyes.



Cirioni has not been in contact with family members since she left, and is considered a missing person. Cirioni was last seen wearing blue jeans, sneakers, green shirt with a black jacket which had a fur hood.

Anyone with information regarding the location of Cirioni is encouraged to call Norwich Police Department detectives at 886-5561, or the Anonymous Tip Line at 886-5561, extension 500.


http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.d.../701190337/1002

Erika Cirioni Missing since: Dec. 31, 2006. Missing age: 26. Hair: Red. Eyes: Blue. Height: 5 feet, 7 inches. Weight: 158 pounds. Missing from: Norwich. Distinguishing characteristics: She has a tattoo of a Chinese symbol on her back and the name “Lewis” on her right ankle. Medical conditions: Her mother believes Cirioni suffers from bipolar disorder. She has known substance abuse issues, including alcohol and cocaine. Clothing: Cirioni was last seen wearing blue jeans, sneakers, a green shirt and a black jacket that had a fur hood.


Missing Person: Erika Cirioni disappeared two years ago today
By GREG SMITH
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Dec 31, 2008 @ 04:00 AM
Norwich, Conn. — New Year’s Eve serves as a bitter reminder for Carol Cirioni of Norwich.

It was the last time she saw her daughter, Erika Cirioni. Erika, 27, had stopped in on New Year’s Eve 2006, on her walk to the First Night celebration in downtown Norwich.

Two years later, the heartache lingers. Erika’s two young sons now live with Carol in their modest Norwich home where holidays are tough.

“I think she’s probably no longer with us, but the boys have their hope,” Carol Cirioni said Tuesday. “I’m not going to tell them, ‘Your mother’s probably gone.’ If they have a little bit of hope, I’m not going to destroy that. I want to hope. I just don’t know anymore.”

During Christmas this year, someone asked one of Erika’s sons if he wanted to snap a wishbone and make a wish. He declined, saying his Thanksgiving wish, “for my mom to be home for Christmas,” never came true.

‘A good heart’
Police said Erika Cirioni, who had some substance abuse issues, was last seen walking on Boswell Avenue after midnight Jan. 1, 2007.

“She may have had some problems, but Erika had a good heart — sometimes too good,” Carol Cirioni said. “I think she let people take advantage of her.”

Norwich police Det. Ed Peckham said the case remains open, but the number of incoming tips has dwindled.

“Every once in a while, we get something to follow from people who knew her,” Peckham said. “We’ve run down everything we can run down. I hate not being able to bring the family, the kids, some closure.”

Police were active this year, excavating two yards in Preston and Norwich in a search for Cirioni’s body. Both digs, along with others in the past, turned up nothing.

For New Year’s Eve, Carol plans to head down to the Norwich marina for a vigil of sorts.

“That’s where she liked to go and sit and think,” Carol Cirioni said of her daughter. “Maybe I’ll bring the boys.”




The Old Heifer! An oxymoron, of course.


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Trail of missing Norwich woman grows cold

By GREG SMITH
Norwich Bulletin

NORWICH -- Erika Cirioni missed her son's 10th birthday this year.

For Carol Cirioni of Norwich, it was a sign her daughter's disappearance has become more than temporary. After more than three months without a word from the 27-year-old mother of two, she refuses to give up the search.

"I keep hoping," Carol Cirioni said. "She's always stayed close to home where she can see the boys. But we've heard nothing -- except rumors."

Sometimes Cirioni drives the city streets at night, slowing only to get a good look at the faces of women she passes. Family and friends have joined her in the woods from Willimantic to Voluntown, acting on anonymous tips from unfamiliar voices on the other end of the phone.

An unidentified caller recently told Carol her daughter's body could be found at Brandegee Lake in New London. She and another daughter, Lisa Mellow, walked the shores of the lake without success.

"We've been from one end of the state to the other," Mellow said. "You never know if that one rumor is going to be something."

Erika Cironi's trail has gone cold, according to Norwich Police Detective Ed Peckham. She's left checks uncashed and hasn't used her cell phone since her disappearance. He believes, and so does her family, there are people out there with information who have not come forward. Police continue to follow leads.

New Year's Eve
Carol last saw her daughter New Year's Eve, when Erika showered and changed her clothes, planning to go downtown for the First Night celebration. Others report seeing her shortly after midnight Jan. 1, walking along Boswell Avenue.

Erika became familiar with the streets in past years, getting mixed up with alcohol and drugs and a disreputable circle of friends. It led to several run-ins with the law. Her mother believes Erika suffers from bi-polar disorder.

But Erika's safety net has always been her mother and three sisters. Her sons, who live with Carol Cirioni, were a constant in her life.

"None of us have ever been that far from each other," Carol Cirioni said this week, joined by two daughters at her Division Street home.

And despite some setbacks, those close to Erika believe she was poised to turn a corner in her life.

"She wanted to change. She tried to get into rehab," Carol said.

Family said Erika had a great sense of humor and loved playing practical jokes. Her younger son, Destin, 5, reminds Carol of her daughter -- "a sense of humor and a way of aggravating people."

"She loved getting people really riled up," Carol Cirioni said. "You wanted to get mad, but you were laughing too hard."

When Erika turned 16, her family threw her a party and hired Barney, the purple dinosaur, to attend as a way of embarrassing her.

"She hates Barney to this day," Carol Cirioni said.

Relative Cheryl Raslavsky believes Erika was poised for change.

'So happy and alive'
"She was so happy and alive," Raslavsky said. "The streets can take you and pull you in. She had smarts enough to know these people weren't friends. She was stuck in a circle, but given enough time, I do believe she would have gotten there. It wasn't that far away."

As time has passed, the fliers with Erika's picture and information have started to disappear.

Jenni Butler of Bozrah spotted the fliers months back and recalled Erika as a childhood friend who "always had a huge smile."

"Everything out of her mouth would make you laugh," Butler said. "She was the life of the party all the time."

This month she noticed one place where the flier was gone. She asked about it and was told Erika had been found.

"It's just scary," Butler said. "She has kids. I can only imagine how my kids would be without their mom."

The disappearance reminds Butler of her own brother, Darren Johnson, who went missing last year. A month after his disappearance, his body was found floating in the Thames River.

Carol Cirioni said her grandsons are starting to ask questions. She is trying her best to prepare them for any eventuality.

"She may be with grandpa (who died in January)," Carol said she told Brandon Cirioni, 10. "If she is, she's in good hands."

And when they ask, "Grandma, are you going to keep looking?" Her answer is always "yes."

Reach Greg Smith at 425-4219 or gasmith@norwichbulletin.com
Norwich Bulletin - http://www.norwichbulletin.com