Lately, I’ve been receiving a lot of traffic and comments on this blog from folks who are curious about my connection to Kid Finders Network. Seems like followers of the Caylee Anthony missing child case, have been Googling information about Kid Finders and have found my old blog posts. Like many of you, I too have been watching in wonderment at the latest controversy surrounding them. This post is for you, those who want to know how Kid Finders Network came into our lives.
The date was July 2008, I received an email through Myspace from a friend, the sister of a missing person, Heather Riggio. She told me about Kid Finders and how they were doing a mobile billboard for Heather. She suggested I contact them to see if they’d be willing to do the same for Lilly. To my surprise, a few days later, I received an email from Sherri Milstead of Kid Finders. She told me about her organization and the work they were doing for Heather Riggio’s case. She explained that along with the mobile billboard, they did press conferences to raise awareness in the community. She offered their services for Lilly. I was very excited about the possibility and immediately notified Lilly’s mother.
A short time later (about a week), I received another email from Sherri. She asked me if I could meet her the following morning at the North Miami Beach Police station, where they were having a press conference for Heather Riggio. She wanted to talk about Lilly’s case. I agreed and contacted Lilly’s mother to go with me.
About 10am on Friday July 11th, we drove to the police station. We saw the mobile billboard for Heather parked out in front of the building on the busy Avenue. Lucely (Lilly’s mother) and I met Sherri and Dennis Milstead moments before the press conference took place. (Pictured above) We watched as everyone exited the station and took their place in front of the mobile billboard. We listened to detectives and Kid Finders speak, we watched as reporters for the Miami Herald and WSVN Channel 7 asked their questions. It was a tough moment us. Although we felt happy for Heather and her family, we could not escape feelings of sadness for Lilly. Quietly, we fell to the background and took a seat.
A short time later, we had our meeting with Sherri and Dennis. They seemed nice and willing to help. They assured us that they would do the same for Lilly. They said it would not be long before the billboard would be ready with Lilly’s picture and information. Dennis gave us each his invention, Safety in a Flash. After conversing for some 45 minutes, Lucely and I left our meeting hopeful.
On July 19th, I got an email from Sherri. She assured me that she did not forget about Lilly. And went on to explain that they were being pulled away to Orlando for a Missing 2 year old girl named Caylee Anthony. She said “As you know we are KID Finders Network and small children take precidence but rest assured we are still working on getting a mobile billboard out for Lily as fast as we can.“
That was the last I heard from Sherri and Kid Finders Network. My emails to Sherri haven’t been answered. But this is the kind of thing I’ve grown used to. I’m sure she’s been really busy with the whole Caylee Anthony search.
But the fact remains, my dear friend, Lilly Aramburo is still missing… just like little Caylee. But NO ONE, not one organization is volunteering to search for Lilly Aramburo or doing anything at all for her or her 2 year old son.
I have become aquainted with the bias and predatorial nature of kidFindersNetwork while keeping up with Caylee Anthony case. I am not surprised at the turn of events for your friends family. The Milsteads seem to be con artists who are looking for the easy dollar. Missing kids are their ticket right now, although they have a new venture in the works involving a halfway house type of thing, another way to exploit the system and generous people who don’t thoroughly investigate their track record, the financial statements and most of all their criminal background.
Saying all this, I don’t know that it was a great loss that they didn’t follow thru for Lilly but after investing myself into the case of Caylee it has heightened my awareness about ALL missing people and I will check back in here for any updates or spread the word myself about this girl. My heart aches for all of you who don’t know which wat to turn. Be assured some of us now hear your cry for help and God willing we will.
Thank you very much for your comment. You’re right, it’s probably not a great loss. Things worked out this way for a reason. But what a shame…I can’t help but think of all the good they could be doing.
Thank you for your kind words, it means a lot.
I, too, found your site through a post on another blog that follows the Caylee Anthony case. As a PI in Massachusetts, I became involved in missing childrens cases. There are several PI’s in Massachusetts that are donating thier time to investigate these “cold cases” pro bono. We work as a team, and have organized searches for these missing children in conjunction with search dog groups from Connecticut and Massachusetts. I wish I were in a position to come to florida to help you, but may I suggest that you contact the state’s association for Private Investigators/Detectives and ask them if they have members willing to donate thier time. If the association would like information or a model to follow, we have had stories published in PI magazine, as well as had made appearances on numerous local and national news shows. This has brought alot of new information, and has kept these missing children in the news (some of our cases are 20 years old) I, as well as the PI’s that I work with would be willing to help in any way we can to get them started. We have also started a foundation to offer rewards in such cases (www.jenniferfayfoundation.org) Please contact me if I can help you in any way.