Family of missing Homer woman commissions bench memorializing missing and murdered women and children

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - It will be two years in October since 38-year-old Anesha “Duffy” Murnane went missing from Homer. Her family is working to keep her memory alive.

“I’m thinking that this dedication will be her funeral, because I don’t know if we’re ever going to get the body back,” said Murnane’s mother, Sara Berg.

A dedicated bench is currently in the works, which the family hopes will serve as a memorial not only to Duffy, but all missing and murdered women and children.

Her mother, Sara Berg, and stepfather, Ed Berg, have commissioned Homer artist Brad Hughes to create the memorial which depicts figures displaying a wide range of emotions.

It will be called the Loved and Lost Memorial Bench. The family hopes it will act, not only as a convenient place to sit, but a place where people can come to contemplate, reflect or grieve their missing or lost loved ones.

“There’s so many missing women, and I didn’t realize that until I had one, and then I realized the enormity of this huge problem,” said Sara Berg. “It would be a good place to go and remember them, and I’m especially thinking of the women in the villages who didn’t have all of the support that I’ve had. Just some little remembrance place so they know they’re not forgotten. It’s hard to think that your child’s been forgotten.”

Duffy’s stepfather, Ed Berg, says once the mold is made, they’re hoping to distribute it to other areas that would like to place the bench in their community.

“We’re trying to make it as universal as possible because this problem of missing and murdered women is a worldwide problem, and it’s very much in the Native communities here in Alaska and the Yukon,” said Ed Berg.

The bench will be installed in a public ceremony later this year. The family is in talks with the City of Homer officials in hopes of placing the bench in the grassy area in front of the Homer Public Library. They’re still raising money to cover the costs of the bench.

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