The parents of a Maine man who has been missing for more than 22 years have increased the reward for information leading to recovery of his remains or the person responsible for his disappearance.

Angel Torres was last seen in Biddeford on May 21, 1999. Now, a reward offered in connection with the case has been increased to $20,000. Anyone with information about what happened to Torres is asked to call Maine State Police. Courtesy Photo

Ramona and Narciso Torres of the town of Denmark are now offering a $20,000 reward for information about their son’s fate. Angel “Tony” Torres was 21 when he was last seen outside a convenience store on South Street in Biddeford the night of May 21, 1999.

Torres’ parents have spent more than two decades keeping their son’s memory alive and pleading for answers. They’ve conducted media interviews and tried to keep his case in the public eye. In 2019, they acknowledged in an interview with the Press Herald that they believe their son was murdered.

Though no arrests have been made, Maine State Police also believe foul play was involved, according to a statement issued Monday by spokesperson Shannon Moss.

In a telephone interview Monday evening, Ramona Torres said she and her husband hope the $20,000 will convince someone to do the right thing and come forward with information that at least helps locate her son’s remains. She praised police for not giving up.

“I think we have a great team working on this and I believe the police are making progress,” she said. “At this point in our lives, we just want someone to come forward to help us find his remains. It would give us closure.”

Last spring, on the 22nd anniversary of his disappearance, Torres’ family increased the reward to $16,500. But last week, the couple learned that a local business owner offered a $3,500 donation that will increase the reward to $20,000, Moss said. The business owner, from Bridgton, asked to remain anonymous.

State police emphasized Monday that they are not giving up on the case.

“Maine State Police detectives are interested in talking to anyone who has more information about Angel’s disappearance,” said Lt. Scott Gosselin of the department’s Major Crimes Unit-South. “We are confident that the right information from courageous people in the community is very likely to help us bring a successful resolution for the Torres family.”

Maine State Police said Torres was nearing the end of his junior year in college when he traveled to Maine from Massachusetts, where he was enrolled at Framingham State College, majoring in business and minoring in Spanish.

State police investigators said Torres disappeared after being seen last on South Street in Biddeford with a man identified as Jason “Jay” Carney. Police had considered Carney their key witness, but he died in 2015 at age 36 in Rhode Island.

“Carney died without telling the police the whole story about what happened that night,” state police said in an investigation update posted on the department’s website in May. “Investigators from the Maine State Police believe foul play was involved.”

Detectives assigned to the Major Crimes Unit and the Unsolved Homicide Unit have been heading up the investigation. The Unsolved Homicide Unit, established in 2015, is involved even though the Torres case is technically a missing person case rather than an unsolved homicide.

Torres’ disappearance has links to another unsolved case. Torres came home for spring break in March 1999, a month after 15-year-old Ashley Ouellette was found strangled in the middle of a road in Scarborough. When a TV news segment aired, Torres told his mother, “Oh, I know who she is, I hung out with her and I pretty much know who killed her,’ ” Ramona Torres told the Press Herald in 2019.

State police have confirmed that some of the people they interviewed in connection with Ouellette’s death were also interviewed about Torres’ disappearance. Ouellette’s mother also has said that one of the people her daughter was with on the night of her death was Jason Carney.

Anyone with information about Torres is asked to contact Maine State Police, Major Crimes Unit-South at 1-800-228-0857 or (207) 624-7076. Tips or information about the crime can also be made on the leave a tip form.

The Maine State Police list 34 missing persons cases on its website dating back to 1964. Maine State Police also list 75 unsolved homicides dating back to 1968.