On Sunday, loved ones of 52-year-old Amy Hillyard, a missing woman out of Oakland, channeled hope at a candlelight vigil that Hillyard would be found safe and soon.
Friends said at the vigil that Hillyard was last seen leaving her Oakland home on the 500 block of Radnor Road near Lake Merritt at 2 p.m. Wednesday, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, light jeans, and white sneakers with black stripes.
Oakland police are leading this investigation. They asked anyone with information about her or her disappearance to contact the Oakland Police Missing Persons Unit at 510-238-3641.
Loved ones have also set up a tipline about Amy at (510)-591-4857.
Hillyard is 5’4″, 120 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes.
Since her reported disappearance, more than 200 volunteers have been going door to door in the area and are asking for any home surveillance video that may help bring her home.
The urgency to find her is especially high because she is at risk due to a medical condition. Friends said Hillyard has a husband and two children who are college-aged. She and her husband are also the co-owners of Farley’s Coffee Shops, which are located in San Francisco and Oakland.
“She’s the kind of person that collects people, that brings people together when you have a problem, she’s generally the first person you reach out to,” said Selena Khaira, a close family friend of Hillyard and her family.
“Which is why it’s so important for us tonight to come together and help her family in a similar way that they’ve always helped us,” Khaira said.
At the vigil Sunday night, the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, which Hillyard’s daughter used to participate in, sang for the dozens of people gathered. Loved ones hugged one another and wiped away tears as they held candles out in front of Lake Merritt.
Tom Green of Oakland, who has been a family friend of Hillyard’s for more than 15 years, described her as “a staple in this community.”
“She literally feeds the community, she feeds her friends and family in her home, she’s fed citizens of Oakland and San Francisco on both sides of the bay through her coffee shop,” Green continued.
He added that Hillyard helped to found Oakland Montessori Charter School and enjoys hiking and traveling.
“We want the community to support her tonight and show her the kind of love we all feel for her, and hope she comes home,” Green continued.
California Highway Patrol issued an endangered missing advisory alert Sunday on behalf of Oakland police, alerting people about Hillyard’s disappearance. Billboards on Bay Area freeways on Sunday also alerted drivers that Hillyard is missing.