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For grieving father, ‘there is no justice’

Photo by Eric Tichy Jim Ceci is pictured inside his West Ellicott home looking at a photograph of his daughter, Lori Ceci Bova, who was last seen in public in June 1997.

Sitting on a table inside Jim Ceci’s West Ellicott home is a framed photograph of his daughter.

He’s not 100% sure these days how old exactly Lori Ceci Bova was when the professional image was snapped — he figures she had to be in her early 20s — but nevertheless he thinks it perfectly captured her youthful, fun-loving spirit that made her a favorite among the family.

Nearly identical images of Lori have been printed countess times the last 24 years on missing person posters, in newspapers and on television.

The Lakewood woman, just 26 years old when she was last seen in public, remains ever-present in Ceci’s mind.

“It’s usually the first thing I think about in the morning when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep,” Ceci said of his daughter’s June 1997 disappearance.

Ceci is hopeful that information will one day come forth that will lead authorities to Lori’s whereabouts. “We’re still praying that we get some sort of resolution,” he said. “After 24 years you just don’t want to lose hope.”

Nonetheless, Ceci remains pained by the events from that summer. He took part in numerous searches in those early days of the investigation, and noted that some of his co-workers at Dawson Metal would donate their vacation time allowing him to focus on Lori.

“They were terrific,” he said of his workplace. “I could take some time off to try to find my daughter.”

Heartbreak for the family was amplified in 2010 with the death of Lori’s mom, Susan.

“It’s tough because I know she died of a broken heart,” Ceci said of his wife, who passed away at the age of 63. “We watched her deteriorate due to the stress in not being able to find a resolution with her daughter, even though we’ve been blessed with three other children, thank goodness. You know, a mother’s bond with her children is unbreakable.”

Ceci knows without a body being found, it’s unlikely the family will ever get closure. He hopes a tip will lead police to Lori, allowing the family to have a burial and a place to remember her.

“It would mean everything to me and my family,” he said. “We just want to bring her home and give her a decent funeral. We don’t have anything.”

He added: “At this point there is no justice. The only justice is the family being able to bring her home.”

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