'United Legacy' helps families organize searches for missing loved ones

(KMSP) - The local non-profit "United Legacy" was created to help families organize searches when a loved one disappears. It was started by a group of people who know that pain all too well.

When someone you love vanishes, time changes. Aunt of missing Monticello man Joe Brunn can attest to that.

“You know what one hour means when someone you love is missing, and to know there are families that go days, weeks, months, and years. You cannot even fathom and it hurts your heart so deep,” Linda Maegi said.

Deanna Villella said she wants families of the missing to not have to carry the burden of searching, which is why she co-founded the non-profit.

“I can't drive by a corn field, or a ditch, pond, lake, and not think about what that search did for me,” she said of the search for Christopher Rossing.

Lt. Sean Derringer of the Wright County Sheriff's Department said the organized searches helped investigators do what they do best, investigate – “That's where you can make an impact, so we can take care of everything we need to take care of.”

To volunteer: https://www.facebook.com/Unitedlegacy/

To donate: https://www.gofundme.com/unitedlegacy