R.I.P.

Here is a list of our family members who have passed on.

Our Tia 'Mine' just passed Nov. 8, 2012. Olga Minerva Cerda Diaz, dad's sister May she rest in peace
Rogelio Escamilla Cerda- March 24, 1977
Abuelita Julia Escamilla Cerda- dad's mom
Tio (Mono) Edmundo Escamilla Cerda- dad's brother
Tio (Chencho) Cresencio Escamilla Cerda- dad's brother
Tia (Tencha) Hortencia Cerda Stephens (Uncle Albert's wife, divorced Uncle Albert and remarried)- dad's sister-in-law
'Tio' (actually mom's cousin's husband)  Ramiro Gonzalez- the owner of RaGo candy from Reynosa, México
Tio Benjamin Realme Sr., Allende Coahuila, México- mom's uncle
Tio Benjamin Realme Jr., Allende Coahuila, México- mom's cousin
Uncle Jesse Diaz Sr.- dad's brother-in-law
Robert De La Fuente- our cousin, Tia Chita's son
Ismael De La Fuente (aka Smiley)- our cousin, Tia Chita's son
Adam Rodriguez- our cousin, Tia Nancy's son
Tio Pilo and Tia Beatrice Cerda Niño- dad's brother-in-law and sister- Tio Pilo use to have a little store
Vangie Niño-our cousin and Tia Bea's daughter
Rene Niño-our cousin and Tia Bea's son
Uncle Sam (Severo) Cerda- dad's brother
Abuelito Miguel Lopez Realme- mom's dad
Abuelita Herminia Felan Realme- mom's mom
Uncle Ross (Rosendo) Esparza- mom's brother-in-law

These family members were all mystified by your disappearance and also had the hope of seeing you once again.

The day has arrived

Dear Junior,
This 24th of December marks your 52nd birthday. We have missed 36 years worth of celebrating your birthday. I just talked to mom and you don't understand how strong of a woman she has become. She hides so much from me as I do from her. We didn't even mention your name this morning only because we understand each other and she knows that I am writing this and we have you in our minds all the time.
It would be so easy, in any given moment, to break down and pour our emotions out like there was no tomorrow- like there was no more hope but that's just it- we don't do that because we hang on to that thread of hope- the hope of your return to us one day.
Yes, much has happened, good and bad, since you disappeared from our lives and I have not yet decided to get this across but once I figure how I will write it, you will know.
I assume that maybe one detail that has kept you from returning back home to us is the fact that dad is no longer with us and that his death, a most tragic one cannot comprehend, may be all the reason you have decided not to come back.
It's never too late for new beginnings.
It's never too late to give hope a chance.
Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas, wherever you are.
With love,
your little sister,
Cindy

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, USA

 Please come home for Christmas



This is the photo of my brother's age-progression photo done by The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Click the link below.

Age progression photo of my brother

This December 24th

Band on the run

***I will be taking the highest bid for this Beatles vintage cake topper. I am sure there is someone out there that would like to renovate this and maybe include it in some museum somewhere in the world. I will donate the entire amount to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children here in the USA because this is the organization that has made an age progression photo of my brother. Since my brother is not the only person missing in this world, this organization can use all the monetary help it can get to help those in need. Just send your bid in as a comment. As soon as I get these bids, I will post them. Thank you. ***



Junior, you will be celebrating your 52nd Birthday- I can tell you that in days past our kitchen would be booming with every kind of pie and cake mom could think of making homemade and she would be working hard to have everything ready for our family to come over and celebrate. We have kept this tradition up even though you are not here. Mom's lights are up and not a year will go by without that- it's important to her, it reminds her of your birthday and that she once had a son. I cannot begin to imagine having my only son missing. It's just an unbearable thought. Not knowing what happened to you or even worse knowing we saw you and not knowing why you did not return to us will remain a mystery until you come home.
On your 52nd birthday- I wish for you... what you need most. I hope and pray that you are sound of mind and body, that your spirit is what you want it to be at this moment in your life. I also pray that our values and beliefs are still embedded in your being, that basically you haven't forgotten who you are. You are of us and if you think we have forgotten about you, that is not so, obviously, but we have had to move on. It has not been easy and that is why I need to share my story with the rest of the world.

Sequence of strange events

After looking for you at Matagorda Beach we came home feeling totally discouraged. On top of that, we began receiving mysterious phone calls. Back in the day we had no way of tracing calls or instant spy technology to get the number the calls were made from but Dad did purchase a cassette tape recorder with a microphone that attached to the phone receiver and just recorded the phone call. I am not sure if mom still has these tapes but I will ask her. We had a lot of family and friends come over and spend time with us because they were waiting for someone to call us and tell us they found you. We had run all kinds of scenarios in our minds to make sense of your disappearance: maybe you just got tired from the swim back and you passed out on the beach and those people just lost you; or maybe you suffered some kind of amnesia;or maybe you went with some others you just met and decided that you could come back later just to find that they were gone. Whatever the case the phone calls we received after your disappearance were a sure sign that you are still alive. We received several phone calls at the house and we all got to hear your voice but it sounded as though some one else had the phone open to allow us to hear your voice. These calls were getting out of hand and then the sightings began. One day, I was coming home from from my friend's house across the street when I saw a brown car parked right by our driveway and I saw you in the back seat. Your hair looked a little long but I did see you and mom saw you, too, since she was by the driveway watching me cross the street back home. We both saw you and reported it to Dad.
Dad didn't know what else to do about this so he hired a private detective and it didn't work out because later Dad found out that he was working with a suspended license. We had to take him to court to get our money back.
The sightings kept on occurring. One of our cousins even saw you at the beach on the 4th of July weekend and she just didn't understand what was going on. One of my best friends saw you at the Jim's Frontier burgers on Bandera and Culebra and she called me as soon as she got home and asked me if you were home yet.
These events are just proof that your disappearance remains a mystery to this day.

Your birthday last year...

I made this Smilebox for you last year and sent it to our family members. Just so you know that I really do believe that you are out there somewhere and that one day we will see you again...soon I hope.

This digital scrapbooking design customized with Smilebox

Newspaper articles

Here are some of the articles the paper ran for us.

June 30, 1975

Dad talked to the Sheriff and got a report of the incident. The report claimed it a drowning but with no body to prove it, it just didn't make sense. We were told not to stick around too much longer because the crowds were coming in for the 4th of July. We did what we could and I even stepped on a fish with those needle sticks and it went through my tennis shoe and into my foot. Dad got worried and he felt maybe we should go back but they sent me back and mom and dad stayed over there. Dad even called the Coast Guard out and rented a plane with special tools to see down through the water from the sky for anything that may look like a body floating around in the water. It doesn't bother me to say these gruesome things only because I know that it was a waste of time due to the events that would occur following your disappearance. These events would just prove that you disappeared and that you did not drown.

Upon arrival

Upon arrival at Matagorda Beach, we went directly to the hotel where Ms. Ayala and the girls were staying. Strange thing though, I don't recall seeing the Mr. or her Ana's Uncle or Nick there. I believe they may have been in a separate room but they didn't show up to see us when we got there. It was as if it was no big deal, they were back safe and you were no where to be found. I wonder now, how could they live with themselves after this? They were responsible for another human life, yours, and they failed. There was just not very much to talk about. They just kept saying that they went too far into the water swimming, that apparently you got tired and decided to swim back, that one girl got pulled out by some man in a fishing boat, and that when they got back to the beach, you were not there.
It was late so we got a room and slept until morning to begin our search for you. More of our family members began arriving to help the next day.

The debut you stood in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-IXJLgRnvs Dance with Me

You stood in a debut in May of 1975 (and Betty allowed you to stand with her?-it's no wonder, though, since she married the guy I saw her with, David Ramos, just as soon as you disappeared, in his white car at Woodlawn park and she is now Betty J. Ramos) and it was one that I will never forget. The girl you stood with, Carolina, was very nice and she looked so pretty in her dress. There was a live band and the song "Dance with me" was popular and was played that night. To this day, when mom hears that song, it takes her back. I believe you took mom out to the dance floor to dance with her and she just loved it. Now, if you could just do that one more time, take her by the hand and lead her to the dance floor... it's never too late for a mother waiting to see her only son once again.

Tio Raul's Recollections

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtrA4xqxIVY&feature=related- Yesterday- The Beatles

I have several memories that seem like they were yesterday:  One is a Sunday evening we lived a few blocks over on Bangor St. we happened to come over to your house and gathered in the backyard all four of us and the four of you were about to share some watermelon your Mom and Dad were serving.  All you kids were scampering about playing with your dog.
  Another one is of a time we went fishing to Medina Lake.  I picked up your Tia Chita's kids and we went to your house for Junior but Mari said he was playing basketball at the the old TMI (Texas Military Institute-I may have the name wrong) so we looked and looked and couldn't find him we went back to your house to no avail so we left for the lake.  You all went that evening to Medina and couldn't find us, we finally met up when you all arrived the next morning the kids fished and your Dad BBq'ed some chicken and we all had a good time together that Sunday.
  Another time we went fishing at Huegele's (a private area on a creek close to Medina Lake).  Your Dad, Junior and all of Tia Chita's kids went, we all fished the kids had fun with Junior's 22 and when they went swimming Junior didn't bring trunks but was very comfortable in his (Fruit-of-the-Looms).  Tia chita's Mikey got in the way of a tree trunk the kids were raising and dropping as in "TIMBER" and was knocked in the forehead.  A lot of it is a blurr I don't know if you and your Mom went though I think you all did because I think she coaxed him into the  under-wear.  The blurr might be from all the Schlitz your Dad and I had that evening over the fire.  We stayed overnight, made a huge bonfire, fished and I don't know where we all slept or what we had for breakfast, but the kids found a fish on the trot line they left out (the fish got away as they brought it in).  The kids didn't mind losing the fish.. we all had a very nice time.
Thank you, Tio Raul, for sharing this.

The phone call

Telephone Line Electric Light Orchestra

Later on that day, after you left,  we went to Tio Kiko's house. Apparently we went to celebrate a BBQ for the 4th of July. I just remember a whole lot of family around and the kids running around and having fun. I wasn't exactly having too much fun since you were not there. After the BBQ, when we got home, we got a phone call. All I remember was dad raising his voice in disbelief and banging on the door to the back yard. I had never seen dad cry like that before. It just scared me so much to see him like that. Suddenly, we had to leave after that phone call. I am not sure who called but I do believe it was Ana A.'s mom.
Uncle Sam and Tia Rosie came over and drove us all the way to Matagorda Beach. Tia Chita let Neddy come along with us just to keep me company. I remember how Uncle Sam was driving and Tia Rosie sat in the back seat with mom and Neddy and I were in the back area. We were laying down and all I could see were the stars out on that clear night. I didn't know exactly what was going on but I did feel really, really scared and since dad wasn't driving, I knew something was really, really wrong. I prayed so hard and so much that night. I prayed relentlessly to Mary and I asked her to watch over you because I felt so scared for you. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you, Blessed are you among women and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Over and over and over did I pray because I knew nothing else would work at that moment but I did believe in the power of prayer so I just kept on praying to Her, Mary, our Mother in Heaven. I knew that where ever you were, She was watching over you, and that is what kept me praying. Hope.

Five a.m. Saturday, June 29, 1975

Seasons in the sun Terry Jacks 
(This song was popular at the time of my brother's disappearance and because the song mentions "It's hard to die", it does not mean at all that I believe he is dead- on the contrary- I believe he is very much alive. As a little girl I listened to this song only because it reminded me of him and I couldn't make sense of it all- and I still can't make sense of it as an adult)

I was sound asleep when I heard some voices in the house. I heard mom, dad and you talking. I didn't get up but I did peek out the blinds of the window to see you and dad drive off. You yawned really big and I saw your big, beautiful eyes, watering with your yawning. I also saw a fishing rod in the car. I saw you drive off in dad's black and white car, not knowing that I would never see you again. An eleven year old little girl, staring at her hero, her best friend, her idol, her everything, whose heart was about to...these tears are making it difficult to read what I am writing at this moment, but it's the reality that I have had to live with all these years and that image of you and dad driving away will never leave my mind.

Junior, I hope you don't mind that I posted these pictures of you on the internet for the whole world, literally, the whole world, to see. I know you don't look like this anymore but maybe, just maybe, someone who knows you right now can see some semblance of you right now in these pictures and know that you do have a family that is waiting for you to come home. It's never too late for whatever reason this has happened, for whatever reason at all, we are still here for you and it would be nice if...you did finally make it home.