San Bruno mother missing for six months

“She’s missed very much by her family and if anyone sees her please contact the police as soon as possible because her family really wants to bring her home,” said sister Nicole Hamilton.

Avilez was last seen in east San Bruno on Sept. 18. That day, she was in “constant contact” with a friend via text message until about 9 p.m., detectives later discovered, and there has not been any activity on her phone since, Hamilton said.

Avilez’s bank and social media accounts have also been inactive since she disappeared and her passport has not been used, Hamilton said.

“I’m worried for her safety,” Hamilton said. “She’s never, ever gone more than maybe a week without talking to her children — that’s the biggest factor here.”

Avilez, whose children are ages 18, 21 and 27, had fallen on hard times before she disappeared and was living with various friends at the time, Hamilton said.

Many of those friends and others who knew Avilez have reported conflicting stories as to her whereabouts, all of which have been found to be rumors, said San Bruno police Lt. Ryan Johansen.

“[Every report] turned out to be unsubstantiated,” Johansen said. “She disappeared under what I would describe as suspicious circumstances because she fell off the face of the Earth, but I don’t know if she was victimized or chose to disappear. Normally when you dig this deep into a missing persons case you see traces of that person’s existence or an indication that they might have voluntarily gone missing, but she just disappeared and when you have no evidence of resurfacing that’s suspicious.”

Avilez spent most of her time in San Bruno and other neighboring Peninsula cities and frequented area Starbucks cafes, Hamilton said.

Avilez is 5-foot-8-inches, with a slender build and blonde or sometimes brown hair, green eyes and many distinctive tattoos, including a big sunflower on her chest.

Hamilton described her sister as vivacious, outgoing and also said she could be overly trusting and accepting of people, including those with criminal backgrounds.

“That was a sweet and loving trait about her but it could’ve been to her detriment,” Hamilton said. “I think she had dangerous people in her life. She accepted everyone no matter their life circumstances and that was always an issue between us because I felt a need to protect her as an older sister and tell her you can’t just be trusting and accepting of everyone. You have to have clear boundaries because a lot of people in this world have ill intentions and you can’t be open and trusting of everyone.”

Anyone with information about Avilez is urged to contact San Bruno police at 616-7100.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102