Archive | #Justice4Lily

For Lily

I found this old photograph. Our friend Kunga invited us to a potluck picnic at the park, but this time it wasn’t in Coconut Grove. I think it was at AD Doug Barnes On SW 72nd Avenue in Miami, back in 2005, I think. A nice group of people had gathered around, including Lily and her long term boyfriend at the time, David.

It’s not a great photo, it appears a bit fuzzy and unfocused but to me, it’s….

precious.

It takes me back to that day…reminding me of the good times.

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5 Years

Lily disappeared 5 years ago today… And yet it is still hard to believe Lily is gone. 5 years and still no answers, no arrests, only questions remain.

Is it possible that she’s still alive somewhere? She was a tiny, young person, 4ft barely 100 pounds. Her exboyfriend says she left his place angry, taking bungee cords with her and leaving behind her cellphone and belongings. How would she have managed to survive, with no money, no ID, no phone? These are the questions that linger in my mind as the years go by.

Today it is raining here in Miami. It seems appropriate. Lily loved the rain, just as I do.  
A few days ago, my girls and I released monarch butterflys in Lily’s memory. The little caterpillars came home with us on some milkweed plants we bought at Home Depot. Lily loved butterflys.

Tomorrow Lily’s son graduates from Pre-K. She would have been so proud of her little boy. He is so much like her, looks just like her too. After his graduation ceremony, we are going to Coconut Grove to plant a tree for Lily. It will be our special spot to meditate and remember.

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My Childhood Memories of Lily

“This is 911 what is your emergency?” “My daughter Lily is missing and she left her purse, wallet, and phone at home!” Lily Aramburo, a close friend of the family went missing on June 1, 2007. Everyone misses her dearly, including me. Just imagine having a friend that comes to your house almost every day and then suddenly disappears.

   Right before her disappearance she had a baby boy. His name is Palden. He has brown curly hair and big brown eyes. Right now he is 5 years old. He is so sweet and adorable, he is like a little brother to me. It is heartbreaking to think that now he has no mom and his dad is nowhere to be found! Because of this, he is being raised by his grandmother, Lily’s mother. 

  Later, we celebrated her birthday, we went to her favorite spot in Miami Beach. The beach on 81st street and Collins Ave. A lot of her family and friends met us there. We wrote her name in the sand and formed a heart made of flowers. I still remember I used to go to that area of the beach and play with her there. We also released balloons with mantras (prayers) written on them. It was extraordinary to see them being released into the sky!


   The next year we held the first candlelight vigil at Peacock Park in Coconut Grove for the first anniversary of the day she disappeared. My sister and my friend Havana and I released butterflies in Lily’s memory. A lot of people came along with Power 96 and some people from the church donated water. My mom and I cut out butterflies, then we decorated them. Everyone signed it and we placed them on a poster board. Some people donated money. Money was donated because no one in the news had picked up the story so we were raising money for a billboard. Everyone was furious with that result. It is four years later and Lily is still missing.

  Lily Aramburo helped me with homework, played at the park, danced and rode bikes with me. She was an incredible friend and I will never forget her. She will always be in my heart and all the memories will stay with me. But I look forward to the day when someone can answer the question, were is Lily? Hopefully sometime soon.
*Written by my 12 year old daughter, Anastasia – Dec 2011*

Friends, please remember to tune in to Investigation Discovery on Monday December 12, 2011 at 9pm (Eastern time), Lily’s case will be featured on the show “Disappeared“.

To follow Help Find Lily Aramburo on Facebook click the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Find-Lily-Aramburo/193954499815

Please help spread the word! And help bring Lily back home. Share and if you tweet, please tag tweets with #Justice4Lily

Thank you for caring and for your continued support to Help Find Lily.

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Happy Retirement Detective Hoadley!

I’ve only known Detective Ray Hoadley since December of 2010 when he took over the investigation into the disappearance of my friend Lily Aramburo, but I feel as if I’ve known him for a lifetime. The Miami Dade Police Department has lost a dedicated detective and public servant, for us – we are losing our hero.

Where others failed, Dt. Hoadley succeeded. He did the impossible, he changed my view of the police department and police officers by selfessly doing his job.
He read about Lily’s disappearance in an article written by Francisco Alvarado in the Miami New Times. He took it upon himself to do what needed to be done. He had the case transferred from the Missing Persons Dept to Homicide. He began the investigation from square one. It was hard work but he did it, easy peasy.

Dt. Hoadley began his career in 1980, in the City of Opa Locka and retired in 2011 from the Miami Dade Police Department. Detective Hoadley is a good man, a highly skilled professional and our city will miss him dearly. Thank you, Sir.

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3 Years. Still No #Justice4Lily




It has been 3 years since Lily Aramburo, a 23 year old South Florida mother, went missing. And the question remains, where is Lily? There is no doubt that someone holds the key to this puzzle.

Lily was last seen at her boyfriend’s apartment on June 1st, 2007. The Dadeland Village Apartments in Kendall near Dadeland Mall. We know that Lily was having relationship problems. She’d been diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia. She was self medicating and suffering from substance abuse. Those last days before her disappearance, Lily and her boyfriend Christen Pacheco had been fighting a lot. 

He claims she just left. Walked out. The time was 2am. According to him, she left her cellphone and purse behind. He said she left in a nightgown and barefoot. He didn’t actually see her walking out -he had gone to the bedroom to speak with Kelly who was in bed. (But somehow) he claims she took bungee cords with her. And yet he said he thought she was just going for a walk to pick flowers.

EJ, the last person in the apartment, was sitting in the livingroom. His statements contradict Christen’s. He said he never saw Lily wearing a nightgown or pajamas and he did not see her take bungee cords. 

Christen waited  24 hours to contact police and report his girlfriend missing to Miami Dade Police Department. He made the police report before calling her mom or calling friends or anyone to inquire about if they had seen her. Isn’t that odd? Wouln’t you make a few phone calls, ask around if anyone has seen or heard from her first, before calling police? He told police that story, that Lily had walked out of his apartment barefoot, in a nightgown with bungee cords. 

A police officer took the report. Despite there being a history of police being called to that address for domestic violence, the officer failed to see any red flags. The start of our long and painful nightmare began.

If you have any information about Lily’s disappearance, we urge you to make an anonymous call to Miami Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 or 1-866-471-8477. You can also submit TIPS via their website www.crimestoppersmiami.com

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