San Francisco

Wife Holds Vigil For Husband Missing 10 Years, Pushes For ‘Billy's Law'

A poster board with Jerry Tang sat at a vigil at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Monday night.

His wife Joyce stands nearby, remembering the missed phone calls when he went missing 10 years ago.

"I started calling his cell phone. And since then...he's never picked up the phone...always went straight to voicemail," Joyce Tang said.

Jerry Tang disappeared from the couple’s Haight Ashbury neighborhood home on Nov. 29, 2005.

Joyce Tang said he suffered a stroke a year prior and medication led to stages of depression. She's searched for him ever since, along with those at the vigil.

"I remember putting up signs all over the place. Walking the streets looking for him," said family friend Adrian Ho.

But a law could bring closure to her husband's case. It's called Billy's Law.

It's being reintroduced to Congress for the fourth time. If passed, it would allow law enforcement and the FBI to share crime information with the National Missing Persons database.

The current database is void of thousands of cases that aren't reported, since law enforcement aren't required to report anyone missing under the age of 21.

"In general when adults go missing, you're allowed to walk out of your house and don't come back. The cops don't look into it as much," Joyce Tang said.

And as Joyce Tang pushes for the law, she can take a look at the crowd and take comfort that she's not alone.

The law was last introduced to Congress back in September and was referred to a committee. 

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