Paula Kavolius v. Barnstable County Sheriff's Office (SPR 20200195)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords February 18, 2020 SPR20/0195 Attorney Donna Buckley Barnstable County Sheriffs Office 6000 Sheriffs Place Bourne, MA 02532 Dear Attorney Buckley: I have received the petition of Paula Kavolius appealing the response of the Barnstable County Sheriffs Office (BCSO) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Ms. Kavolius requested "all/any records at the Barnstable County Sheriffs Office pertaining to Dr. Margaret Kilcoyne [sic] disappearance on 1/25/1980." Unsatisfied with the BCSO's response, Ms. Kavolius petitioned this office and this appeal was opened as a result. February 3rd Response The BCSO provided Ms. Kavolius a response on February 3, 2020 in which they noted that after an exhaustive search they were not in possession of any of the records that Ms. Kavolius had requested. Under the Public Records Law, the BCSO is not required to create a list ofrecords or any record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d); 32 Op. Atty Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § IO(a)(ii). Accordingly, will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, ~ r r ~ Supervisor of Records cc: Paula Kavolius One Ashbution Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us