"I Owe Him A Debt I Can Never Repay": Remembering Hank Albarelli

Hank P. Albarelli Jr., talented author and journalist, passed away on June 18th, 2019 in Florida. He was a multifaceted man who wore many hats throughout his life. Hank produced music festivals,
worked in the Carter administration in the White House, and was an award-winning playwright.
His determined and thorough nature was well-suited for his later career in investigative journalism, where he produced compelling and meticulously researched articles and novels encompassing subjects including the assassination of JFK and the murder of Frank Olson. A Vermont native, Hank also spent considerable time investigating and reporting on the disappearance of Brianna Maitland.

He wrote what is arguably the most comprehensive piece on Brianna's disappearance to date in 2006, its release providing ever-needed media pressure in the case. In his article Hank spoke with an assistant district attorney, an FBI profiler, and included poignant quotes from Brianna's teachers and loved ones that captured her personality and loss. He was the only one who followed Ramon Ryans to Burlington and the Ligia Collins case.

His efforts were greatly appreciated by Brianna's dad, Bruce Maitland. Bruce remembers Hank as a man with a "great heart and strong sense of justice", who "used his investigative journalism skills to try to find Bri and wrote a great article, that to this date is the finest written on her case" Bruce added, "I will miss him and owe him a debt I can never repay".

Hank listed his favorite poem as Listen to the Musnt's from Shell Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends:

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

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