The state of Connecticut’s treasury is holding onto hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed property and some of it might belong to you.

The state maintains the CT Big Li$t (List), a database you can type your name into and see if you could have money from dormant balances in savings and checking accounts; uncashed checks for insurance benefits, commissions or wages; or securities.

CHECK THE CT BIG LI$T HERE

The money comes from financial institutions and other businesses, which turn the assets over to the treasury after they have gone unclaimed for a period, which is generally three years.

The unclaimed property receipts topped $138.7 million during the fiscal year that ended June 30, which exceeded the $115 million that was projected and the $129.2 million collected the previous fiscal year, according to a news release from State Treasurer Denise Nappier.

The Office of the Treasurer said it deposited $63.4 million into the State’s General Fund and transferred $11.6 million to the Citizens’ Election Fund.

The office also returned $58 million in unclaimed assets to 18,472 people in Fiscal Year 2018, which was $17 million more than the previous fiscal year.

“These higher-than-expected receipts will be available for the public good while we wait for the rightful owners to step forward to claim their property,” Treasurer Nappier said in a statement.

“We take seriously our commitment to return unclaimed property to their rightful owners. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job as State Treasurer is giving money back to people. We have millions of dollars waiting to be returned,” she added.

Nappier’s office attributed the recent higher collections to “an unexpected increase in the value of unclaimed securities,” and said the sale yielded $44 million. 

Connecticut law allows the State Treasurer to sell abandoned securities and deposit proceeds from such sales directly into the General Fund, according to Nappier’s office.

“Rightful owners of these securities may step forward to claim their monies at any time, and they can be assured they will get back the value of what was received by the State,” Nappier said in a statement.

The CT BigList includes around 1.7 million names of people and organizations that might be entitled to unclaimed property. It includes 82 owners who have property valued at greater than $250,000, including 12 owners with properties over $500,000.

Also there are also 340 owners with properties valued between $100,000 and $249,999, 3,357 owners with properties valued between $25,000 and $99,999, 25,475 owners with properties valued between $5,000 and $24,999, and the list goes on.

There are two ways to find if you have money on the list. One is to go to the Treasury’s web site, www.CTBigList.com, print a claim form and follow the instructions; or. The other is to call 1-800-833-7318, weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Windsor Locks police said they have arrested a caretaker at a senior living community after an 83-year-old woman was injured.

Police said officers responded to Stonebrook Village, a senior living community at 550 Old County Road, on July 10 to investigate a report of an assault the day before.

They said the facility director was notified that the elderly woman fell out of her wheelchair just after 6 p.m. on Monday, July 9 when her caretaker, Christine Christensen, was pushing her down the hallway.

The video surveillance showed Christensen pushing the woman, then appear to deliberately push her forward, which caused her to fall from her wheelchair and to the floor, according to police.

According to police, it appeared the woman was not prepared for the sudden fall because she couldn’t see Christensen behind her and could not brace herself, thus injuring the left side of her face and left arm.

The victim received medical attention and police obtained a warrant charging Christensen with third-degree abuse, second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree assault of an elderly person. 

Bond was set at $50,000 bond. Christensen is due in Enfield Superior Court on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

NBC Connecticut has reached out to the company that owns Stonebrook Village.

A 48-year-woman was found dead at a home in Waterbury Tuesday morning and police said they are investigating the case as a homicide. 

Police said they responded to White Rose Avenue at 7:45 a.m. to investigate a report of a woman bleeding and found her dead in the home. 

Police said this is an active and ongoing investigation. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Waterbury Police Detective Bureau at (203) 574-6941.

The national tour of the hit Broadway show "Hamilton: An American Musical" is set to make its Connecticut debut this December and tickets will be going on sale to the general public Sept. 8, The Bushnell announced Tuesday.

Customers will be able to buy tickets online starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8 through The Bushnell's website.

The theater's box office will also be open that day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

'Hamilton' will be stopping in Hartford Dec. 11-30.  The tour's visit to Connecticut was announced in March 2017.

Bushnell '2018-2019 Broadway Series' members will receive tickets for the show as part of their subscription, but donors to The Bushnell will have the opportunity to buy limited additional tickets ahead of the public sale date.

The Bushnell has set up a special website with information about the show.

An excessive heat warning has been issued for Hartford County through Wednesday night and there is a heat advisory for the rest of the state, prompting schools to announce early dismissals for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Several school districts opted to dismiss early Tuesday, and some have announced an early release for Wednesday.

Litchfield, Milford, Naugatuck, Norwalk, Oxford, Simsbury and Wallingford have all announced early dismissals Wednesday. NBC Connecticut is just receiving word of the dismissal plans and will provide updates on the list below as they come into the newsroom.

See a list of early dismissals and cancellations here.

Some districts, including Milford, Naugatuck and West Haven, released students early Tuesday. Other districts canceled after-school activities due to the heat. In West Haven temperatures in classrooms in the Washington School approached 90 degrees. Combined with high humidity, the heat index is close to 100 degrees.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is issuing a warning that ozone levels across Southern Connecticut could be unhealthy for sensitive groups through Wednesday.

For the full First Alert forecast, click here.

In a closed-door meeting with evangelical leaders Monday night, President Donald Trump repeated his debunked claim that he had gotten "rid of" a law forbidding churches and charitable organizations from endorsing political candidates, according to recorded excerpts reviewed by NBC News.

In fact, the law remains on the books, after efforts to kill it in Congress last year failed.

But Trump cited this alleged accomplishment as one in a series of gains he has made for his conservative Christian supporters, as he warned "You're one election away from losing everything that you've got," and said their opponents were "violent people" who would overturn these gains "violently."

Before the start of the new school year in New Haven Thursday, there is a new push for adults that dropped out of high school to continue their education.

One hundred staff members from the adult education program held a rally Tuesday on the New Haven Green to encourage residents to return to school. They dressed in bright t-shirts that said “No Excuses” on the back.

“The mission today is to address those alarming statistics around our adults in New Haven that one out of every six does not have their high school diploma,” Principal Michelle Bonora said, “and 30 percent of our citizens struggle to read or read proficiently.”

Tracey Davis Massey dropped out of high school in South Carolina.

“I had my first child when I was in the 10th grade and I had to be independent,” she told NBC Connecticut. “I had to go out and work.”

Davis Massey has since raised four children. She said three have their high school diplomas and the fourth will graduate from New Haven Public Schools next June.

A year ago at age 46, Davis Massey decided to enroll in classes at the New Haven Adult & Continuing Education Center on Ella Grasso Boulevard.

“Going back to re-learn the things I enjoyed the most, history, science, things that are so dear to my heart,” she said.

New Haven’s adult students range from 17 to older than 70 years old, Bonora said, adding that more than 170 graduated with high school diplomas last year.

Davis Massey said she is on track to receive hers in 2019.

“This was it, this was the final call and I wanted to show my children that I can do it just as well as you can do it,” she said.

Fans on. Lights off. Windows open.

The teachers at the Washington School in West Haven did what they could Tuesday as they tried to keep their students cool inside a more than 100-year-old building with classrooms that don’t have air conditioning.

“It felt like I was melting in a desert with no water,” fourth grader Zion Avilez said.

Zion’s mom works at the elementary school.

“It’s very hot in there,” Mindy Ayala said. “I’m a lunch lady and it’s hot in that lunch room and the classes are just as bad.”

West Haven Schools decided to dismiss students early on Tuesday, the second day of classes. The district already announced there will be another shortened day on Wednesday.

“It’s disgusting, I’m sweating I can barely breathe, my allergies are acting up, it's nasty,” parent Nikki Trotta said.

Some parents waited for their children in the shade before students were let out of school at 1:30 p.m.

“They don’t have the ability to have the air circulate, so they’re in those closed walls so they’re probably suffering more than we are,” Trotta said.

Most parents told NBC Connecticut they support the decision to have an early dismissal, but Trotta had a different take.

“I think they should have started school next week,” she said, “they knew this heat wave was coming it was on the forecast.”

Superintendent Neil Cavallaro said student safety comes first when making the difficult decision to shorten the school day.

“Looking at the temperature on Monday for Tuesday and then Tuesday for tomorrow I felt like the best thing we can do is make the call early,” he said.

Around 2 p.m. after dismissal, the school district let NBC Connecticut inside a third-floor classroom at the Washington School. The thermometer reading showed the temperature approaching 90 degrees.

“We probably would have been close to that 100 getting out at 3:25,” principal Twana Shirden said.

It will be the same drill for West Haven parents on Wednesday.

“Got to do it all over again and I feel bad for the parents, I just notified a couple of friends who all work full time and they have to make arrangements to try to get their kids picked up so it’s not fun,” Trotta said.

West Haven High School had early dismissal around noon. Varsity teams were allowed to practice, but they had to be finished by 1:30 p.m. The football team moved practice indoors into the gym.

Norwich public elementary schools are back in session Wednesday and middle schools start Friday, but students will see some changes this school year.

This year the district is offering all students free breakfast and lunch. Students who stay after school are also supplied supper, said district Director of Food Services Erin Perpetua.

All of it will be paid for with federal money.

“They can concentrate on what they need to do here rather than concentrating on how hungry they are,” Perpetua said.

Students at Norwich Public Schools have a severe need. Perpetua said last year, 78 percent of students relied on free or reduced-price meals.

“A lot of these [parents], they work paycheck to paycheck. If it comes to paying an electric bill or sending your child in money to pay for lunch, electric is more important. They know their kids will be fed something here, but now that’s not an issue,” Perpetua added.

The menu includes chicken nachos, tacos, pizza and Tyson chicken products.

Also new this year, for the first time in a few years, sixth grade will be back in the middle schools.

It’s year two that they’re magnet middle schools, which means more is being enhanced and added to the curriculums – like photography, digital music and drama classes at Kelly STEAM Magnet Middle School.

“Really letting it be student driven and student interest driven so they’re more invested in their learning,” said Kelly Principal Sheri Tanner.

Some of those new programs are things sixth grader Zackary Schofner is looking forward to.

“Media arts – it’s this photography class, I’m just really excited about it,” Schofner said.

Superintendent Abby Dolliver said Teachers’ Memorial Global Studies Magnet Middle School will see both Chinese and Spanish classes this year.

And while the heat index will be extremely high on Wednesday, some areas in all the schools have air conditioning, Dolliver said, adding staff will make sure students stay hydrated.

“We’ll monitor it. If some parts of buildings are extremely hot, we’ll move students to other parts of buildings,” Dolliver said.

Norm Needleman is the president of the leading manufacturer of effervescent products in the United States, Tower Laboratories.

The company makes products for major brands like Alka Seltzer and generics that fizz.

“If it fizzes, we make it,” Needleman said Tuesday.

Since the Trump administration slapped tariffs on a host of products and materials, Needleman says he’s nearing the point where he will have to raise prices, which means customers will see higher prices when they go to the store.

“You can’t have a worse way to execute tariff, trade policy than what he’s doing because the end result is that the consumer pays more.”

Specifically, the tariff on aluminum that’s imported into the United States has led to retaliation by other countries, leading to prices hikes of 25 percent from Needleman’s supplier. Combine that increase with a higher cost for stock for packaging from Canada as a result of another tariff, Needleman says he’s already identified $800,000 in higher costs for his business.

Overall, the tariffs administered by the president have an impact of $174 million on goods and services, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest business advocacy groups in the United States.

The biggest pain is felt when it comes to exports to Canada and China with possible losses of $68 million and $67 million, respectively, as a result of the tariffs being enforced. Both countries have already retaliated with levies on goods coming from the United States.

“A lot of things are humming and the last thing you want is something that puts a bump in the road,” said Joe Brennan, the President of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the state’s largest business group.

Brennan says he’s heard from large and small manufacturers and said more than half of the CBIA’s membership is concerned with the impact the tariffs may have on their business. To many, Brennan says, the tariffs came out of nowhere.

“Stability and predictability are really really important concepts and what this has done is run turmoil, if not chaos into some markets.”

In the meantime, there is nothing Connecticut can do to change the course of the Trump administration, which has said publicly that while some employers and workers may be upset now, there is long-term growth that will follow as a result of the tariffs.

Brennan says no one knows that for sure, but said in state like Connecticut with a fragile state of economic affairs, the tariffs did not do anything to ease tensions of the state or the country falling back into a malaise.

“As manufacturing is finally gaining some traction, companies are moving back to the US, now we’re imposing tariffs that are adding higher costs that make it more difficult for them to be competitive so the timing of this in some ways couldn’t be worse, particularly in a state like Connecticut that relies so heavily on advanced manufacturing.”

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Ned Lamont decried the tariffs that have impacted Connecticut manufacturers.

“What regular people in Connecticut have got to realize is how this trade policy impacts the state of Connecticut,” Lamont said during a visit to Tower Laboratories, a Clinton-based maker of products that fizz like alka seltzer tablets, cold medications, and denture cleansers.

President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on thousands of products imported to the United States, and in turn, other countries like Canada, China, and Mexico have slapped tariffs on American goods, leading to higher costs for manufacturers.

In the case of Tower Laboratories, the company’s president, Norm Needleman says they are being hit with higher costs for aluminum and stock which are each used for packaging and shipment of the effervescent tablets to customers all over the world.

“I’m the canary in the cave for the consumer. The prices are going to go up for the consumers if not already,” he said.

The event was an effort by Ned Lamont to tie policies of the Trump administration to his Republican opponent Bob Stefanowski, despite the fact that no governor, Democrat or Republican, has any control over trade policy that derives at the federal level.

Lamont acknowledged that fact, but said the issues hurting manufacturers eventually hit Connecticut consumers.

“I can’t implement tariffs or implement them as a governor but I can work very closely with our Congressional delegation so they can realize how important it is that we make sure that there’s no trade war.”

NBC Connecticut reached out to Bob Stefanowski's campaign and received the following response from campaign spokesperson Kendall Marr.

"It's ironic that Ned Lamont is talking about harming our state's businesses, considering his desire to raise taxes yet again after eight years of the disastrous Malloy administration. Those policies directly resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and decimated Connecticut's economy. Stefanowski's plan to hold the line on state spending and lower taxes will provide direct relief to businesses struggling to cope with the Lamont-Malloy economy."

Police are trying to locate an 88-year-old man missing from Glastonbury.

A Silver Alert has been issued for 88-year-old Gerard Gosselin, who has been missing since Tuesday.

Gosselin is 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, with grey hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing dark shorts, a dark t-shirt, black socks and black slip-on shoes.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the Glastonbury Police Department at 860-633-8301.

As students head back to school there is growing concern of vaping and the use of e-cigarettes among teenagers on school grounds.

Growing in popularity is an e-cigarette trend, known as “juuling.”

Juul e-cigarettes look like a flash drive that can store documents and data. Juul is odorless and can be smoked.

"It was a big issue, for them to shut down all the bathrooms. We didn’t really know what was going on until the principal announced on the speaker there’s too much vaping in the bathrooms," a student at Hall High School told NBC Connecticut.

Four bathrooms at West Hartford's Hall High School shut down in January of 2018 after the principal Dan Zittoun emailed students a message:

“We have received numerous complaints from students how uncomfortable it is to go into a bathroom where students are vaping.” Zittoun wrote. "We will be closing four bathrooms (two boys and two girls, C wing 1st floor, and 2nd floor between B and C wing) starting Thursday, January 4 so that security and administration can more effectively monitor bathrooms in hopes of minimizing the occurrences of vaping on school grounds."

Similar vaping concerns shared in a January letter to Westminster School Parents about the growing trend of e-cigarettes including juuling among teens.

"Studies suggest that, although teen cigarette smoking is down, the use of other nicotine delivery systems such as e-cigarettes, vaporizer pens, or Juul pods (see links below for images) has significantly increased," wrote Westminster Dr. Davis Smith the Director of Health Services.

A 17-year-old who did not want her name used starts her senior year at Hall tomorrow and said she’s seen juuling happen in school.

“Some have issues about it but they’re afraid to speak out about it,” she said.

And while Connecticut law says teens under the age of 18 are prohibited from purchasing such products, they are still making their way into schools, and many say the concern is still there at the start of a new school year.

“Particularly in our schools we are seeing an increased use. We have some statistics that show kids are now turning towards that instead of using the normal tobacco products,” said Capt. Mike Perruccio of the West Hartford police.

School resource officers in West Hartford were asked to meet with members of the community about the rise in teen vaping last spring.

“Now, were hoping kids get the word the product is bad for you and harmful for you,” Perruccio said.

Juul Labs, based in San Francisco, makes their e-cigs look like a portable USB drive. And despite signs they are adult only products on their website, students say Juul is a way to appear unsuspicious as school.

“It’s sort of the new fad, kids love to do things they can be sneaky about and conceal and these are very small discreet devices that look like a flash drive. Parents might not know it’s anything not related to school,” explained Dr. Tregony Simoneau.

Simoneau, a pulmonologist at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, said they’re seeing a rise in teen use.

“Juuling in particular has a higher level of nicotine in the early years, particularly in the adolescent window, they’re more susceptible to addiction,” Simoneau told NBC Connecticut.

Steve Boyle is a former school counselor in West Hartford who works closely with students in his private businesses to keep them healthy and active. He said he interacts with kids who use Juul products regularly, and said he sees it as a marketing issue.

“It’s a global health crisis that’s only going to lead to more activity. we have to be able to communicate with kids the danger. But you know with young people the danger is attractive. And so we have to make sure marketing alternative healthy activity,” Boyle said.

“This is a partnership between the schools, the parents and community and we need to work together to help educate our students about their choices," Principal Zittoun said.

Juul Labs sent NBC Connecticut this statement:

"Cigarette smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. In the United States alone, more than 480,000 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses. JUUL is intended for current adult smokers only. We cannot be more emphatic on this point: no minor or non-nicotine user should ever try JUUL. Our packaging includes a prominent nicotine label and clearly states for adult smokers.

"We are working closely with Attorney General Tom Miller and the group of tobacco control experts and public health officials he has assembled to help advise us on efforts to keep JUUL out of the hands of young people. We are investing $30 million over the next three years dedicated to independent research, youth and parent education and community engagement efforts. In addition, our other initiatives include:

• Our e-commerce platform utilizes unique ID match and age verification technology to make sure minors are not able to access and purchase our products online.
• We market our products responsibly, following strict guidelines to have material directed toward adult smokers and not to youth audiences. (Please read our Marketing & Social Media Code)
• We support effective legislation and regulation to prevent the purchase and use of our products by minors.
• We have reseller terms that include monitoring and penalties for noncompliance with underage restrictions.
• We actively monitor the internet and process thousands of enforcement actions per month. Our goal is to ensure only authorized retailers who are subject to our youth prevention controls are selling JUUL products.
• We support federal and state initiatives to raise the purchase age to 21+ to purchase tobacco products.

"We want to partner and engage with policymakers, lawmakers, educators and parents to combat underage use. We stand committed to working with those who want to keep JUUL out of the hands of young people.

The Connecticut office of Attorney General says they are working with other states on a number of concerns with Juul, including marketing practices and young people.

The Silas Deane Highway is closed in both directions in Rocky Hill due to a serious motorcycle crash.

Police said they were called to a two-vehicle crash near the Saybrook Fish House around 6 p.m. The motorcycle rider was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the second vehicle was not hurt and remained on scene.

The road is shut down between Elm Street and Parsonage Street. Rocky Hill police warned drivers to avoid the area while crews respond to the crash.

No other details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

An act of vandalism at the Iwo Jima Memorial Park on the New Britain Newington line is under investigation.

The Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation said someone stole a large information stand right out of the ground. And before that, someone damaged the kiosk twice this month.

“Someone tied a chain around it looks like it, towed it out of the ground, cut it up, and took it,” said Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation Vice President Gary Roy.

The kiosk held information on how to make a donation, including sponsoring one of the memorial’s flags.

“It just makes you sick to your stomach to think that people would actually do this,” Roy said.

The foundation said the kiosk went missing sometime between 6 p.m. Monday and 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Anyone with information should contact police.

Your kids are likely going onto one of thousands of buses this week as they head back to school.

NBC Connecticut went to the DMV to find out what the inspection process for all of those buses is like.

David D'Ancicco is one of several DMV inspectors tasked to inspect approximately 10,000 yellow and black school buses statewide.

"We'll look at the tires. We look at the inside to make sure that the breaks are functioning properly," he said.

He follows the standards outlined in state laws.

"Should any one of these systems fail, even if it's in the middle of a trip with children on board, the bus is to be brought to the safest place from that spot where it can be park, and another bus will come out…. They can't even operate with a headlight out," D'Ancicco said.

They're checked from top to bottom.

"Once opened. It should lock in place, should the bus be on its side, so the door will not prevent anybody from getting out," he said.

"When we board the bus that the stairs are clear. It's free of trip hazards. We make sure that the emergency escape routes are operational. We test each and every one to make sure they function smoothly," he added.

On top of the annual DMV inspections, each bus sees a mechanic every 90 days. Bus drivers inspect them twice a day: once when the bus leaves the yard and then once when it's back.

If anything breaks, the company has 15 days to repair it and if they continue operating with a safety issue, then the company risks getting an out of service violation. About 1,000 tickets were issued last year. The DMV says they only have some spare buses to use if one gets pulled.

"We also regulate the drivers to make sure they have the proper credentials. Ultimately, the goal is these kids are safe and that's all we want," he said.

Enfield public schools are dismissing students early on their first day of school, as a way to beat the excessive heat inside the classrooms. Superintendent Chris Drezek says, while students learn for a few hours, the staff is committed to keeping them cool in any way possible.

“We’re going to make sure that kids are going to be as comfortable as they can be in the excessive heat while we have them,” says Drezek. “But we’re going to keep continuing to remind people to stay hydrated, make sure that we keep them in the coolest parts of the buildings if we can.”

All outdoor activities Wednesday have either been moved inside or have been cancelled.

Superintendent Drezek says an early dismissal on the first day of school is one of several firsts for the district this year. Students are back in class before Labor Day, when the academic year typically follows the holiday. Superintendent Drezek says the abnormal number of snow days last year prompted school leadership to open the classroom doors early to make up for lost time.

“The board and our teachers union, we all came together and decided to make the change and make some adjustments to the activities that we typically do, and start kids this week, says Drezek.”

This is the second year students from Enfield High School and Fermi High School are under the same roof. For years, the two schools used to be athletic rivals. To celebrate bother school’s accomplishments and traditions, setting differences aside, the championship banners from both schools are now lined in the Grand Hall together.

Superintendent Drezek says the former rivals have quickly become friends. “We joked that it was going to be like the Jets and the Sharks when we showed up on the first day in a turf war, but the kids, like they always do, proved everybody wrong.”

Newington students are heading back to class on Wednesday. The town's Teacher of the Year is kicking off the new school year with a brand new medical science program.

Jennifer Freese says it's all about her students.

“They are why I do what I do. To me, it’s not necessarily what they learn, but letting them know that there is somebody that cares about them,” Freese said.

Her enthusiasm has earned her Newington's Teacher of the Year award.

"Totally shocked, surprised, humbled. Very honored. I was blown away that my colleagues had nominated me and that I had been selected," she said.

She's been teaching at the middle school in Newington for the past four years and now she's moving up to teach at the high school.

"I'm feeling a little bit like a freshman. Excited, nervous," she said.

Mrs. Freese is heading up a new program this year that gives students hands-on experience in the medical field.

“It’s giving students some initial exposure as to what those careers are. Helping them to find things they’re interested in and things they’re not so interested in,” she said.

Students will learn in a brand new state-of-the-art classroom.

“We tried to simulate that doctor setting with all actual tools and materials that you would see that, so that our students really have first-hand experience," Freese said.

Freese says her goal this year is to help students and inspire them to be the best they can be.

“The most important thing is making connections with students. Making sure that you shake the kids' hands when they come in the door. Making sure that they know they are welcome here," she said.

West Hartford Police are investigating what appears to be two burglaries early Wednesday morning.

Police said Sam's Food Stores on Boulevard was found to have a broken door and broken glass around 3:00 a.m.

The Wise Old Dog on Quaker Lane was also found to have a broken front door and broken glass, but is unclear when it happened.

Officers have not said if anything was taken from either store.

It is unclear if the two incidents are connected.

A group of parents whose sons died from or were affected by fraternity hazing incidents have banded together to strengthen laws and policies and to appeal directly to fraternity members to stop the potentially dangerous practice, NBC News reported.

The first goal of the Anti-Hazing Coalition is to pass legislation in Pennsylvania named for Tim Piazza that would punish hazing with prison time. Piazza, 19, died after fracturing his skull in an alcohol-fueled Penn State University hazing ritual.

His parents, Evelyn and Jim Piazza, told their sobering story to a group of 500 fraternity brothers at a gathering in Phoenix this month, the first time they spoke together to stop the kinds of incidents that killed their son. They called their talk, which touched on the moment they said goodbye to an unconcious Tim, "Love, Mom and Dad."

"I'm a big momma's boy, and hearing moms talk about their sons being hazed to death broke my heart," recalled Spencer Bradbury, president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, after the event.

The group of parents have already gotten a law passed in Louisiana — named for Max Gruver, who died after a forced-drinking ritual at Louisiana State University — and have set their eyes on Georgia.