TOWN OF PITTSFIELD, WI (WTAQ) – The daughter of a missing Town of Pittsfield woman, says she’s been living a nightmare since her mom went missing over 4 years ago.
Marsha Loritz, the daughter of Victoria Prokopovitz, desperately wants to know what happened to her mother.
“I just don’t think…I don’t even know what to say what I think happened because I just think something terrible happened. I don’t think she willingly ran away,” explained Loritz.
60-year-old Prokopovitz was last seen on April 25, 2013 around 10 p.m. at her home located at 5118 Kunesh Road, which was in the country, a couple of miles from the main road.
She lived there with her husband and son.
“My brother was gone for the evening and my step-dad went to bed and when he went to bed, she was still there. She was having coffee. When he woke up at 3:00 in the morning, she wasn’t there,” Loritz explained.
Prokopovitz left behind her purse and all its contents including ID, money, her cell phone, and cigarettes, which her daughter says was a red flag since she was an avid smoker.
She has not been seen or heard from since.
“Immediately, my life was shaken up. It was like this bad dream…how can this be happening,” said Loritz. “It’s such a terrible place to live everyday not knowing where she is, if she’s okay…if she’s alive or if she’s not.”
And as the years go on, there seems to be more questions than answers.
“The more you sit and think about it, the more questions you come up with but yet you can’t take any off the list,” Loritz said.
Loritz believes someone has to know something and she’s not giving up. Neither are detectives assigned to the investigation.
“You know, it’s an ongoing case. We’re looking for any information. We’d love to have some closure in this one way or another for the family, and we’re not going to give up until we come up with something,” said Brown County Sheriff’s Lt. Scott Semb. Prokopovitz’s daughter has faith and believes that any answers will come through the investigators who are working tirelessly on the case.
“Someone has to know something…people can’t, they don’t vanish,” said Loritz. “That’s our hope, that someone has a little bit of information that could mean something to the right people.”
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Victoria Prokopovitz: The Person
“My mom was a very happy person, very giving, very loving. She would give someone the shirt off her back,” said Loritz.
Loritz was surprised when asked, “What’s your mom like?”
So much of her time has been consumed trying to find her and not explaining the type of person she is.
She says growing up, her mom had the biggest heart, being supportive to friends that needed extra help.
“She was such a good role model for us.”
Loritz says her mom was creative and loved going to garage sales, turning trash into treasure.
And it’s funny what you remember about someone.
She says her mom loved glue and says Victoria could make anything with glue.
“Our friends would come over and they would go and pick something up off an end table and it was glued to the end table,” Lortiz remembers with a laugh.
Loritz clearly misses her mom.
But life wasn’t always easy for Prokopovitz.
She had struggled with depression and even a suicide attempt but despite rough patches, Loritz says Victoria always reached out in the past.
“I just don’t think that’s a possibility because we would have found her,” explains Loritz. “She lived for us 3 kids, we were her life and she loved her grandkids.”
What does Loritz’s gut tell her?
“I just think something terrible has happened.”
Loritz is frustrated and sometimes doesn’t know what to do.
“If I knew what to do, I would do it. We’ve gone and done our own searches. We’ve even had to dig for her. We’ve gone and dug and that’s just something I wouldn’t wish on anybody…to think that’s a possibility.”
She says she can’t escape the reality that’s become a nightmare.
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One Day at a Time
Through this experience, Lortiz says she’s had to come out of her shell.
She describes herself as a shy child and has had to overcome that obstacle in the process of trying to find her mom.
But she’s never lost hope or faith that someone out there knows something.
This week local officials and family members renewed the $17,000 reward for Victoria Prokopovitz.
It will expire in September.
Until then, Sheriff’s officials ask the public to come forward if they know any information about the disappearance of Victoria.
Even the smallest piece of information may open new avenues in the case.
Please call the Brown County Sheriff’s Investigative Division at 920-448-4230; Text to “GBTIP plus your message” to: 274637 (CRIMES); or the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 920-432-STOP (7867).
“I lived so long in desperation. Every single day I would get up and today would be the day that we’d get the answer, and then it would be crushing at the end of the day when it didn’t happen,” explains Loritz. “I hold on to my faith that the answers are going to come. I cannot give up hope.”
