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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A candlelight vigil for a gorgeous young coffee shop owner. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.
Beloved Oakland coffee shop owner vanishes without warning, leaving her daughters desperate for their mother's safe return.
Where is Amy? Very high profile in her neighborhood.
Chapter 2: What happened to Amy Hillyard, the missing coffee shop owner?
Everybody loves her coffee shop. Extremely popular. Never a bad word about Amy Hilliard. But tonight, the community banning together... To have a vigil. She's disappeared days ago, last seen, to my understanding, in a public park. Where is she? Nobody, nobody just vanishes off the face of the earth. It's not like we're in Harry Potter and you can, oh! apparate somewhere else.
That doesn't happen. Somebody knows where is Amy. Joining us, an all-star panel. But first, I want to go straight out to Brian Fitzgibbons, Director of Operations, USPA, Nationwide Security. He leads a team of investigators that go around the world searching for missing people and performing extractions of missing people. Former Marine Iraqi War vet, I hate it.
Hate, hate, hate when someone says they just disappeared like it's a vanishing act. That's not what happened. And don't even start with the typical down the road off. She's a woman. She's probably with her boyfriend. Do not even let the words boyfriend or new boyfriend or alone time or me time or girls trip come out of your mouth, Fitzgibbons.
I won't. And what I'll say that, you know, this case is particularly alarming because of the time of day that Amy Hilliard went missing. She was last seen at her home around 2 p.m. and then, according to reports, was seen on surveillance footage around 4, 430 in Diamond Park in Oakland. Now, what's concerning here is she left behind her phone at her house.
So this is very atypical behavior for a missing persons case.
Very creepy and very scary. And it's, you know, like I think it happens in every neighborhood. But it's also like frightening to think that someone just disappeared from here. And I really like hope that she's OK. I hope her family is OK.
Her husband, Chris, shared that one of the things that defines Amy, one of her favorite words is the word hope.
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Chapter 3: What details do we know about Amy's last known whereabouts?
And so tonight we're expressing our hope. that we find her. Please review your video cameras for evidence of her walking past your home. She loved hiking. She loved walking. It's very possible that she could be on that video.
She'd be the one jumping in, volunteering, leading volunteers, talking to other people in the community, spreading the word, using her talent to help bring community closer together. It seems crazy that she's not here tonight with us.
From our friends at KGO and KRON, Dave Mack with us, Crime Stories investigative reporter. Have you seen Diamond Park? It's gorgeous. It's not like some field of weeds off by the industrial park. This is a very well-manicured, well-lit park. It's popular. A lot of people go there. It's really hard for me to believe. She's last seen there at 4.30 in the afternoon, daylight hours, right?
Not 4.30 a.m., 4.30 p.m., right?
That's correct. Nancy, what's fascinating aboutā Have you seen the pictures of this park? Yes, it's incredible. It's a familiar place to everyone in the area. But Nancy, here's the part that really comes into play. We know that Amy was at her home neighborhood around 2 p.m. She was seen by neighbors outside with her dog. Then we have 4.30 p.m.
where she is seen on surveillance video in Diamond Park. There's a two and a half hour window where we don't know where she was or what she was doing. But it would take it's a couple of miles from her home to Diamond Park. OK, it's like three to four miles. It's not a straight shot. Driving time, 10 to 15 minutes walking time. Much longer.
It could take an hour to hour and a half and not something that would normally be walked. So we've got an issue here of time and trying to build that timeline. But 4.30 p.m., Diamond Park, she is seen on surveillance video confirmed.
Dave Mack, you're saying Diamond Park, right? Not like the jewel, but D-I-M-O-N-D, correct?
That is correct.
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Chapter 4: Why is Amy considered 'at-risk'?
The terrain is more difficult. much easier to hide somebody in there or get lost in there.
Since Amy disappeared, over 200 volunteers have gone all around the neighborhood, near the park, asking for camera footage, door cams, anything that they can find. Straight out to a special guest joining us, Dr. Rachel Tolles. Dr. Tolles, clinical forensic psychologist, author of a brand-new book coming out, Inventing the Psychopath. Okay, I'm reading that.
How a convenient myth makes the world more dangerous. You can find her at drracheltolles.com, T-O-L-E-S. Dr. Tolles, thank you for being with us. Dr. Rachel Tolles, why is it when here you've got a beautiful and very successful coffee shop owner, everybody seemingly loves her, when she goes missing... Everyone acts like she ran off with a man. Why? Why is that?
When a guy goes missing, nobody says, oh, he's a big hoe. But when a woman goes missing, it's altogether different. It is very strange and it is a double standard. You could argue that maybe some people have this idea on their minds because of the recent Michelle Hundley Smith case in North Carolina, where she disappeared in 2001 and was found alive.
And well, this year she left when her daughter was 14. But these types of cases with women kind of just wandering off or leaving with a lover usually have a different behavioral structure. And from what's public here, we haven't heard any of these kind of precipitating crisis things or that there was issues in the marriage. We haven't heard that yet.
So, but yes, it's a double standard and it's really unfortunate. You mentioned a mom, I believe she was a mom of three who goes missing for about 14 years and she's found basically in the next town over, uh, You know why we know about that case? Because it's aberrant. It's unusual. It's highly unusual for a mom of three to go missing and lose all contact with her children.
They think she's dead for over a decade. It rarely happens. That's why it made a headline. And it feeds into women disappear because they want to. They want me time. They want to go on a walkabout, a girl's trip. That is so rare. To Joanna Nieves, joining us, high-profile criminal defense attorney, founder of the Nieves Law Firm. Joanna, thank you for being with us.
Why is this, this stereotype... alive and well, very alive and well, even amongst law enforcement when a woman goes missing. We just assume she's slung up at the Motel 6.
Yeah, I think it's because people are always looking for a reason to place on something rather than going to the route of, hey, somebody took this person and against their will. She's a mother of two. She's a prominent business owner in the community. They're going to lean towards, hey, was there trouble at home? Was she escaping from reality? Was there mounting debt and a sinking business?
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Chapter 5: What is the significance of Diamond Park in Amy's disappearance?
So you're spot on to say that the egress from that area is quite simple and would be fast. So we have to immediately extend this canvas to the surrounding cameras be they residential or commercial, in and around Diamond Park around the time she was last seen.
Okay, Dave Mack, tell me about the area outside the park. Of course, the park area and those hiking trails that are densely forested are going to be the first place police look. But outside that, just let's say she was taken outside the park. Let's pretend a vehicle. That is an alternative police have to explore. What's around the park?
You've got, Nancy, there's a lot of access by roads running in and around the area. We are dealing with neighborhoods, family homes, but as you see on the map there, there is one road that runs along this path that canvases and connects most of these areas. As you look, you'll notice that
the park that we started with at Lake Merritt and going to Dynasty, there is that one main road, but look aside all around its residential area. You've got those huge trees running as you look there. You've got redwoods all over this area and easy access out of the park on the road and you're into town. You're heading into Oakland and San Francisco.
You're in the Bay Area in a matter of minutes, Nancy. It's not a far off journey from the park into areas of a lot high population.
You know, I'm very curious. When you say it's not far from Oakland, which has a skyrocketing crime rate, how far from Oakland is it?
We're talking 8 to 10 miles. The search has extended into Oakland neighborhoods and major parks beyond Diamond Park, Nancy. That's something that has just been added to this. Remember, we lost three Four of the first of the search time where the search was focused on Amy Hilliard's neighborhood and Lake Merritt, which was a couple of minutes walk away from her home.
Three or four days spent in that area. It was only after they expanded the search and found the video at Diamond Park that the search expanded beyond that. So we lost several days of looking for Amy early on.
Okay, back to you, Brian Fitzgibbons. That is brutal. Did you hear what Dave Mack from Crime Stories just said? Days were lost. Days were lost searching the wrong area.
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Chapter 6: How does the community respond to Amy's disappearance?
Diamond Park in Oakland is located near Fruitville and also the Laurel District. It's part of a city with a horrible crime rate. You've got a 1 in 11 chance of becoming a crime victim in Oakland. Now, the Diamond District is situated in East Central Oakland, and that's considered more moderate in safety compared to other high-risk corridors in West and Deep East Oakland areas.
But still, still very high crime rate. And, you know, to Dr. Rachel Tolles joining us, I believe when people, for instance, go on vacation, they're on a cruise ship, they're in one of those all-inclusive resorts, they think they're safe. Because you choose to believe you're in this safety bubble, everything's going to be okay.
Much the same thing when people go to these beautiful but heavily wooded forests, parks. They see the children's playground and that automatically signals safe. They see lighting, they see surveillance cams, and that signals safety. I'm safe. And they let their guard down. And really, Dr. Rachel, why not? You cannot live in a constant state of fear and agitation.
But this feeling, this false sense of security is misplaced. I completely agree. And I think that that is exactly what happens in cases like these. We often see people thinking, well, I just want to walk in nature. So maybe I will leave my cell phone at home because I want to unplug. So I'll just go into kind of a denser area. But of course, that's not wise because it puts you at risk.
And then, of course, we hear that she has this undisclosed medical condition. So if she's then vulnerable for that reason or any other reason, that's, of course, increasing the risk. You know, that's curious, Dave Mack. We hear she has some sort of a medical condition, and it's making the family even more concerned. Is it diabetes? Have you heard? Do you know what the condition is?
No, we have only been told that she has a medical condition, but there has been no definition of what that is. There's no descriptions of what it could possibly be. Just that it is a condition that requires attention. That's it. And that's why they elevated the search.
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Could you explain to me, Dr. Rachel Tolles, why people suspend concerns for self-safety when they go on hikes, when they're jogging, or when they're in, for instance, a bucolic park like this? Everybody does it. I do it, and I certainly know better. Yeah.
I think you actually nailed it when you said that people can't live in a constant state of fear and looking over their shoulder. And of course, us women, we are doing that all the time from the time that we basically come out of the womb. We're constantly scanning our environments and that hypervigilance I mean, we know that stress is the number one killer. We just shouldn't be in that state.
And the idea of being able to go in nature and take a breath and believe the fantasy that we're all just safe once we enter the woods. I mean, it's a nice theory, but it does put us at risk. And especially if we've decided to not take our cell phones. Yeah. I'm just wondering if she had her cell phone. Dave Mack, do we know?
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Chapter 7: What challenges do investigators face in the search for Amy?
What's at the recreation facility?
Well, you know, you mentioned the area for children to play. That's what they're talking about with recreational. There you go. Pictures like that of you see in a park that actually, to be honest with you, Nancy, when you see things like this for children to play on and basketball goals and tennis courts and swimming pool, all you think are family related activities and a very safe place.
It's also mean you see the woods. Well. creates a lot of hiding spots. Now you mentioned parking. This is right off MacArthur Boulevard, which is a major thoroughfare heading straight into downtown Oakland. And you can get on MacArthur and be gone in a matter of minutes, Nancy. So yes, this is a park that has a lot The things for children, families to do, activities, sports and things like that.
And it is easy access from MacArthur Boulevard, which gives you a lot of things to consider when looking for someone like Amy Hilliard.
Maybe someone will see her or has seen her or has a ring camera video that has recorded her in the last couple of days and doesn't know it. But if they just take a look at that recording, they might see that she was on that camera walking on Wednesday, March 25th, when she went missing. And they might be able to give us the lead that will help us find her.
From KPIX.
Amy Hilliard classified as an at-risk missing person as customers and employees say her sudden disappearance is completely out of character and deeply concerning.
Evidence of routine. Routine evidence. And I don't mean standard, stereotypical, run-of-the-mill evidence. It's routine. I mean evidence of her routine. She has never not shown up to work. Highly uncharacteristic. She co-owned a very popular coffee shop in Oakland, Farley's. They're at a loss. She's never done this before. What does that mean to you, Dr. Rachel?
I mean, well, I'm sure you probably know this, but the coffee shop itself was named after, I believe, Chris, the husband's great grandfather who went missing. That's a fact that is just also eerie. I know that. I know that. that. I didn't bring it up because I don't find it relevant to her search, but it is an odd coincidence.
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Chapter 8: What psychological factors affect perceptions of missing persons cases?
So Lake Merritt was where the search was focused, as it is right there in the neighborhood. Now, when it comes to Diamond Park, not so much she didn't it was a little bit further away from the house about four miles not an easy walk to get to and so not convenient not something she regularly did she did regularly walk in merit in lake merritt not at diamond park
The whole thing is heartbreaking and shocking. I didn't get very much sleep last night. Barley's is really a very important part of our community. They've really networked into the community in a wonderful way that she's returned healthy and safe and sound. We've been friends for at least the last 25 years. She's important in my life. She's an aunt to my children.
Her husband and my husband are best friends. They went to college together. She's one of the most important people we have in our lives. When you have a problem, she's generally the first person that you reach out to, which is why tonight it's so important for us to all come together and help her and help her family in a similar way that they've always helped us.
From KTVU and KPIX, you know, Joanna Nieves, a lot of people do not have dozens of searchers, of volunteers out looking for them. Every one of these close friends need to speak to police and undergo forensic interviews. Why?
because who she was speaking to, the nature of the relationship she had, the background about her dynamics in the community is so critical to giving the law enforcement clues about what may or may not, may have occurred in this situation. You know, she left the cell phone at home, who was the last person she talked to?
She was gone for two and a half hours on a Wednesday in the middle of the day when most people might be picking their kids up from school. So who did she have in her life that would help with those type of things? Did she often take time away from the coffee shop to, go on these long excursions.
And all of her community members who really know her are going to help paint that picture so that the police don't get tunnel vision just going down one avenue, but they're able to take that aggregated and make a conscious decision about where to target that investigation.
We have a great window seat where we have a knitting group on Tuesdays. And we're really looking for all of the community to enjoy it more hours of the day and on weekend long.
It's not an expression.
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