Squeaky Wheel Tour Coming to Freehold

A concert series dedicated to helping locate missing people is making a stop in Freehold this weekend with what promises to be a great show.

On Saturday the American Legion post 54 on Main Street will host a stop on The Squeaky Wheel Tour which was created by the GINA for Missing Persons Foundation. A press release for the show says the foundation “raises awareness for the staggering number of people who vanish every year.” The show was started by musician Jannel Rap in in honor of her sister Gina Bos. The sisters were both musicians before Bos disappeared in Lincoln Nebraska after a show in November of 2000.

Rap, while looking for her sister, realized just how many people go missing and how hard it can be to get attention to help find their loved ones and decided to do something about it. She started the tour in 2001 and since that time has helped to locate more than 1100 missing persons “because of the collective efforts of cooperating nonprofits, law enforcement, artists, families of the missing and mediat support.”

The Squeaky Wheel Tour not only aims to help locate missing persons, but also help the families of the missing people themselves. “Families of the missing not only suffer the loss of their loved ones and financial, emotional and mental hardships, but they find it difficult or next to impossible to gain media attention when there is nothing new in their loved one’s case,” the press release said. “The Squeaky Wheel Tour’s efforts help to bridge the gap by partnering with artists and nonprofits worldwide to bring local attention to the missing.

Artists like Maroon 5 and Meatloaf have taken part in Squeaky Wheel Tour events during which performers put a spotlight on missing people from the area. Flyers are made available at the shows for the missing people and a more extensive list can be found at www.411gina.org. The Freehold show will include Rapin, Jimmy Arcoleo, Gene Walk and surprise guests.

According to the website some missing people from our area include Diana Moren-Acevedo from Freehold who was reported missing in February of 2003 and Jan Andre Cotta who went missing from Wall in June of 1973.

The show starts at 7 p.m. and there is a $10 suggested donation with music, a cash bar, a gift auction and a 50/50 as well as food and more.