{"id":243268,"date":"2026-03-30T11:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/243268\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T11:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:48:14","slug":"oakland-community-holds-candlelight-vigil-for-missing-at-risk-woman-amy-hillyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/243268\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland Community Holds Candlelight Vigil for Missing At-Risk Woman Amy Hillyard"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Loved ones of 52-year-old Amy Hillyard gathered for a candlelight vigil at Lake Merritt on Sunday evening, as reported by NBC Bay Area. The community event aimed to maintain hope for the safe return of the Oakland resident who has been missing since Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Hillyard was last seen leaving her residence on the 500 block of Radnor Road at approximately 2 p.m. on Wednesday. She was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, light-colored jeans, and white sneakers featuring black stripes.<\/p>\n<p>The search effort has mobilized more than 200 volunteers who are conducting door-to-door inquiries. Supporters are specifically requesting residents in the Lake Merritt area to review home surveillance footage for any signs of Hillyard.<\/p>\n<p>            &#13;<\/p>\n<p>                            <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3tmRvcKNtl.jpeg\" alt=\"BBC Radio 2 Sacks Scott Mills Amid Personal Conduct Allegations\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                &#13;<\/p>\n<p>Authorities have classified Hillyard as at-risk due to an unspecified medical condition. She is described as being 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes.<\/p>\n<p>The California Highway Patrol issued an endangered missing advisory alert on Sunday to assist the Oakland Police Department. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fakta.co\/tag\/missing-person\" title=\"missing person\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Missing person<\/a> alerts have also been displayed on billboards across Bay Area freeways to increase public awareness.<\/p>\n<p>Community and Family Impact<\/p>\n<p>Hillyard is a well-known figure in the local business community as the co-owner of Farley\u2019s Coffee Shops. The business operates locations in both San Francisco and Oakland. She is also a mother of two college-aged children.<\/p>\n<p>            &#13;<\/p>\n<p>                            <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dDaaADlO4u.jpeg\" alt=\"Students Demand Urgent Fixes to Flimsy NYC OMNY Transit Cards\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                &#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She\u2019s the kind of person that collects people, that brings people together when you have a problem, she\u2019s generally the first person you reach out to,&#8221; stated Selena Khaira, a close family friend.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Green, a friend of 15 years, noted Hillyard&#8217;s role in founding the Oakland Montessori Charter School and her love for hiking. The Piedmont East Bay Children&#8217;s Choir performed during the Sunday vigil as attendees held candles in her honor.<\/p>\n<p>The Oakland Police Missing Persons Unit is leading the official investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact investigators at 510-238-3641 or use the family-established tip line at 510-591-4857.<\/p>\n<p>            &#13;<\/p>\n<p>                            <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bWdD2fM8EJ.jpeg\" alt=\"Brush Fire in Santee Triggers Evacuations at Nearby Shopping Centers\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                &#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Loved ones of 52-year-old Amy Hillyard gathered for a candlelight vigil at Lake Merritt on Sunday evening, as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[107912,109120,109119,109118,143,145,144],"class_list":{"0":"post-243268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-amy-hillyard","9":"tag-farley","10":"tag-lake-merritt-vigil","11":"tag-missing-person-oakland","12":"tag-oakland","13":"tag-oakland-headlines","14":"tag-oakland-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}