A beloved Bay Area mom of two, wife, and coffee shop owner vanished without a trace months ago and now investigators hired by the family are seeking surveillance video they believe will give a clue as to what happened to her.
Amy Hillyard, 52, co-owner of Farley’s Coffee in San Francisco, was last seen on March 25 walking her dog near the 500 block of Radnor Road in Oakland. Witnesses reported she was wearing a tan top and tan pants at the time of her disappearance.
Thanks to the generosity of friends, those in the community and others who heard about her story, a GoFundMe has raised enough money for the Hillyard family to hire a private investigative team who is focused on finding that missing piece of information that could bring her home, per an update on BringAmyHome.com.
Investigators have asked for surveillance video from residents and building owners in the areas near where she was last seen starting from Wednesday, March 25th after 2 p.m.
The private team wants video from those in the area regardless of whether it shows people in the video or not.
“With 100% certainty, I believe there is a piece of surveillance that contains a clue,” says Steve Fischer of Search Investigations, LLC.
“Amy’s friends and volunteers have done a remarkable job building maps, going door-to-door, searching park trails.”
“We are using the information they gathered to launch a more focused search to discover where Amy went after she disappeared from her home,” Fischer added.
The update said that Fischer, along with investigator Steve Gelinske, had visited buildings in the area to get “videos from security cameras that were not previously received.”
“Using drones, tracing the steps she might have taken, visiting with homeowners and building owners, the investigators are leaving no stone unturned,” the message read.
Investigators are specifically looking for any kind of surveillance footage/Ring cameras from the following locations:
- Cleveland Heights
- Park Boulevard corridor
- MacArthur Boulevard vicinity
- Trestle Glen
- Crocker Highlands
“Even previously reviewed footage may give investigators critical insight and new information,” the message read.
“If you have reviewed video from that afternoon and there is no activity whatsoever, that information is also valuable to investigators.”
Amy’s husband, Chris Hillyard said on the day his wife went missing she visited a therapist.
She then texted him after she returned from the appointment around 1:40 p.m. he said, to tell him she was home.
Surveillance video showed that shortly after she got home, she took their dog for a walk and also spoke to a neighbor.
When Chris got home around 3:15 p.m., he said all he found was her cellphone, keys and other personal belongings on the kitchen counter, with the back door open.
Chris later opened up about the mental health challenges his wife was facing after dealing with several losses, providing some insight into why she was listed as “at risk due to a medical conditions” when she vanished.
He said that her mental health situation had gotten bad enough that she sought help from a professional who prescribed medication to help Amy deal with feelings of anxiety and depression.
The California Post reached out to the Oakland Police Department who said “there is no evidence to suggest foul play” and the investigation remains ongoing.
“At present, there is no evidence of abduction, kidnapping, or any other crime associated with her disappearance.”
