Amy Hillyard, a Bay Area coffee shop owner, has been missing since March 25.
Provided by the Hillyard family
Amy Hillyard, the beloved owner of a Bay Area coffee shop, was working through mental health challenges when she vanished last month, her husband said Thursday, but he remained hopeful that she would return home.
“We won’t stop searching for Amy until we have answers,” her husband, Chris Hillyard, said in an exclusive interview with the Chronicle. “We believe she is still alive.”
When she disappeared, he said, she was “recovering” from depression and anxiety stemming from the death of a close friend and one of the family’s dogs, as well as extensive caretaking of close relatives.
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Amy Hillyard’s March 25 disappearance shocked the Bay Area, and family, friends and law enforcement agencies have been searching for her since then. The Oakland couple co-own Farley’s Coffee, which has a location in Oakland and another in San Francisco. The mother of two is also known for her community service. She serves as the board president of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, according to its website.
“At this time, there is no evidence to suggest foul play,” the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. “At present, there is no evidence of abduction, kidnapping, or any other crime associated with her disappearance.”
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On the day she disappeared, Chris Hillyard said, he and his wife had breakfast together at home before he dropped her off at a BART station near their Oakland home. She was headed to a therapy appointment in Walnut Creek, Chris Hillyard said.
She texted him around 1:40 p.m. to say that she was home, and her credit card was charged for the BART trips to and from Walnut Creek, Chris Hillyard said.
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About five minutes after arriving home, she took their dog for a walk, and talked to a neighbor on her way back, Chris Hillyard said, citing surveillance footage from a neighboring home.
When he returned home around 3:15 p.m., the back door was open, Chris Hillyard said. His wife’s belongings were on the kitchen counter, including her car keys, cellphone, wallet and handbag.
Surveillance video later showed Amy Hillyard in the area of Dimond Park, located at the base of Dimond Canyon and its hiking trails, around 4:30 p.m. the day she disappeared, Oakland police said. The agency did not provide further details.
Six days later, on March 31, police, with assistance from Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin county sheriff’s offices, as well as 60 volunteers, fanned out in the Dimond District park for a search, to no avail.
In the past few months, Amy Hillyard was dealing with “a lot of loss and intense feelings of sadness” related to the death of a close family friend, Chris Hillyard said, as well as intensive caretaking of close relatives and the loss of one of their dogs. “Amy prides herself on being there for others, taking care of others, and all of these stressors took their toll,” he said.
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Overwhelmed, Amy turned to a professional and was prescribed medication for depression and anxiety, he said. His wife, he said, was “working on recovering and doing all the right things to heal” when she went missing.
Police previously said she was at-risk because of a medical condition but did not elaborate.
“The fact is that being without her medication is dangerous, and that’s why it’s important to bring Amy home,” Chris Hillyard said.
He added: “There’s no real explanation for why she has gone missing. She did not leave a note behind or any other clues.”
Volunteers, including family and friends, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, have searched for her, handed out flyers about the case and canvassed for any footage of her in spots she frequented, including neighborhoods around Lake Merritt and the Oakland hills. They’ve scoured coffee shops, restaurants, farmers markets and trails.
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Amy loved to hike in and around Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park. “It was a place of calm, a retreat in many ways,” longtime friend Tejal Patel said. It’s why some searches have focused on that area.
Patel, who is helping to organize search efforts, said volunteers were using Google Maps to mark the places they’ve searched, pinning spots they’ve checked, as well as Strava, a GPS tracking app that records their walking routes. At 8 p.m. every night, Patel contacts volunteers and comes up with a game plan for the next day.
Police told the Chronicle they were following up on multiple reported sightings and reviewing video footage. Investigators have also obtained search warrants, canvassed residential neighborhoods for any videos of Amy Hillyard, among other investigative efforts. Police have also shared surveillance video for the family to review. “They felt we were best equipped to spot Amy on streets and BART stations,” Chris Hillyard said.
He and Patel said the outpouring of support from police and the community has been heartwarming. Patel said that restaurants have donated food for volunteers, and printing shops have offered their services for the flyers. The support echoes Amy Hillyard’s character, Patel said.
“If she’s reading this or hearing this, we want her to know how much we love her and that we will welcome her with open arms,” Patel said.
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Chris Hillyard said the day-to-day searches and other efforts have helped the family stay focused and “less likely to break down in tears.”
“As each day goes by, it is more and more painful,” he said. “As you can imagine, it’s hard to sleep, and it’s impossible to keep any kind of normal schedule.”
He added: “Amy is precious to me, to her daughters, to her family and friends. She has always been there for others, and we are filled with gratitude that the community is there for her now, doing all it can to bring Amy home.”
Amy is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds, with blond hair and hazel eyes. Police asked anyone with information about her whereabouts to call the department’s Missing Persons Unit at (510) 238-2641. Police also asked the public to contact them with any relevant video.
If you need help
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call the free 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988” 24 hours a day or text “HOME” to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor anytime.