Our Search For Justice For
Emily Jeanette Garcia & Her Unborn Son Emilio!!!
I have only just returned to Blessing, TX.
from San AntonioTX, where I went to do some follow-up on Emily's murder case, and to possibly set up the passing out of flyers
on the north-side of town. I came back sick and disheartened by the way people are treating not only me, but my daughter Emily's
memory. I made a missing person report on or about the 12th of February 1993.....The man told me at that time, "Look, Lady,
what do you want us to do?" "I've got 200 cases on my desk alone!" When I asked him," if he and everyone that worked in that
office had that many cases on their desks, what was being done?" he got mad at me and slammed the phone down. The missing
person's report that should have been made, and that could have made a difference between Emily being found alive or murdered,
was never made. There was about 13 days where Emily was missing before she was murdered and her body was found in Canyon Lake.
There was never, and still isn't, a missing person's report for Emily Garcia. I had my children fingerprinted when they were
small for just such a reason as this. I, like other parents, assumed that these fingerprints are on file with the FBI, and
that if anything ever happens to them, they will be able to identify the child by the prints they have on file. I looked for
my daughter for over a year, before a friend of mine called me in Missouri where I was working at the time, to tell me they
had passed a picture on one of the San Antonio TV News stations and that she thought that it may be Emily. I went back to
San Antonio and contacted the number that they showed on TV and went to verify that it was Emily. The way they did that was
by the fingerprint card that I had kept! Here I was looking for her in Bexar County (San Antonio), and they had her body in
New Braunfels (Comal County), only minutes away, but they weren't able to find out who she was? Emily had a juvenile record
and they keep fingerprints. One of the articles said that they had checked the prints, and that it had been run on the teletype.
Of all the police departments that we have contacted, which is about 80 offices, only one man from Thailand said that he had
ever heard of this case. He said that he was originally from Texas. She was buried, not even as a Jane Doe, but listed on
the death certificate as N/A. It said that she was not even of Hispanic origin, which she was. They buried her in a potters
grave in the Bracken Cemetery. I have been trying for the past 10 years to find out what happened to her baby and whether
or not they buried it with her. That one I finally found out from the Travis County Medical Examiner, who was gracious enough
to give us the answer. The baby was "retained" for one year, according to law, and since the police or no one else showed
interest, the baby (fetus) was cremated. It was a boy and would have been my first grandchild. The ashes weren't even saved,
even though, now they have ways to use these even to obtain DNA information. I also found out that no DNA had ever been run
on the baby before it was cremated. I had gotten upset with the funeral home because a lady had written me to say that she
had bought special things for Emily to be buried in and that they had buried her naked. The funeral home said they had put
a hospital gown on her. I realize this may be small detail to some people, but to a grieving parent, it has the power to destroy
them. As far as I can figure out, the N/A named death certificate was never registered with the state since it has no registered
number on it. Other than this copy I recently received, I find no record. Next, when the police had verified that they thought
that it was Emily, we had to go through Austin to get permission to exhume her body, and that took months, not sure how many
now. At that time, it is my understanding, that they cannot exhume a body and rebury it without a death certificate, which
there still is not one with her name on it filed in Texas anywhere. St. Mary's Catholic Church didn't want an exhumed body
in the church, but finally agreed to do the funeral. Emily was finally laid to rest with the Garcia family in the Ramby Grove
Cemetery in Somerset, TX. At this point, no one had still convinced me that it was really her, and I have not to this date
been back to the cemetery. She isn't there, anyway, and no matter where her body may be, she will always be in my heart. It
breaks my heart to think that the baby was not with her either. They both had such tragic deaths, and so alone, when I had
looked so hard for her. I was given a copy of the complete autopsy report by the Travis County Medical Examiner, complete
with a picture, which after seeing it, I was more convinced that it was Emily. Finally someone to tell me something! It helped,
even though it was not the kind of things that I wanted to know or see. But then, in these past 11 years, I have even imagined
things more horrific, if that's possible. There were things that came out in the autopsy I had not been aware of, but I appreciate
the manner in which the coroner treated us, and has answered all of our inquiries honestly and in quick order to help us try
to deal with some of the things that we are having to. We have sent off a request for an amended death certificate with Emily's
name on it, but have not received anything back as of today, May 13, 2004. I just came back from San Antonio, where I went
to see if I could get some information about the Time-line that we are trying to make. This is from the last day that I saw,
and talked to Emily before she disappeared on Feb. 11th, 1993. Emily had been on probation, and we had gone that morning (as
close as I can remember..the 11th) because she was being released from probation. Then we went to the Dept. of Human Services
to get her started on Medicaid because of her being pregnant. She thought that she was farther along than the 3 months that
the ME describes in the autopsy report. Acceptable, because we can make mistakes about these things. Once we had been seen,
they told Emily that she would have to go get a pregnancy test done and return with "proof of pregnancy" before they could
get her signed up. That was the reason that she left and went to the north-side of town that day. She called me---probably
a pay phone, because it was noisy--and told me that she could not get an appointment that day and would have to spend the
night with her friend (which she had stayed there other times and I had the phone number that she had given me), and then
go the next day. I never saw or heard from Emily again. Now, after her being murdered, no one seems to have ever heard of
her----No one knows anything, and many of the people that she thought were her friends, moved, changed their phone numbers,
or weren't available to talk to me when I asked if they had seen her. It was like she vanished or never really was. Now there
doesn't even seem to be much of a paper trail, either. Someone saw her, talked to her, or knows where she was for those 13
days or so between the time she disappeared from San Antonio, TX, and the time that her nude body was found dumped out in
Canyon Lake, TX. That's what we are looking for and what we hope to hear from all the things we have been doing.Here's my
findings from my trip to San Antonio.
1) Keith Fortney: Now chief deputy of Juvenile Probation verified
for me by phone on 10/29/03 that per Emily's records that he saw Emily and I on 01/28/93 and can confirm that date. Emily
was released from probation on the 11th of February 1993, but he didn't see her in his office on that date. He doesn't know
if someone else saw us, but will check. He said that he will now help us in any way that he can regarding Emily's juvenile
records. They are sealed.
2) Department of Human Services
2535 Castroville
Road
San Antonio, Texas 78237
210-436-4392 ext 765(extention will
not dial direct)
The lady was nice, but explained that no records are kept longer that 3-5 years. Note: Can't verify that
they sent Emily for pregnancy test.
3) The place that Emily was going on February 12, 1993, in the Naco-Perrin
area was evidently not Family Planning, but Planned Parenthood located at 11514 Perrin Beitel in San Antonio. I talked with
the supervisor and they do keep all visits on their computer, even back 10 years. She asked what Emily's name was, what my
name was, Emily's birth date and social security number for verification and had no match. Note: Emily could have used a different
name, but they check all the information and besides, Emily had no reason to hide that she was going and what for since I
already knew. We assume that she never got there that day or any other day.
4) Search for Emily's father Roy
Garcia: I contacted Minnie Witherspoon, Roy's sister, where she was working at Niks Drug and Beauty Supply on New Braunfels
Avenue in San Antonio, Texas. This was to let all the family know that we are working on this case and that they will be seeing
things about it in the newspapers and on TV, so they will not be shocked. I asked her to contact Elizabeth, my other daughter,
to let her know also.
5) I talked with Crime Stoppers to verify the reward for the flyers, and they referred
me to Tim Kolbe for him to handle it.
6) I looked for information on Mauc and evidently it is no longer available
or in service. Mauc is the juvenile detention program that Emily had been in.
We need your help in finding who
murdered Emily Garcia and her unborn baby boy on February 25, 1993 in Canyon Lake, Texas. Emily was only 15 years old at the
time of her murder and was pregnant with a little boy. Emily had been reported missing from San Antonio, Texas on February
12, 1993, which was 13 days before she had been murdered and her body found. If anyone has any information about Emily, about
the 13 days that she was missing before her murder, or about her death, please contact:
Comal County Sheriff's Office
Criminal Investigations
Dept.
Det. Sgt. Tommy Ward
830-620-3400
Or
Emily's Family:
Sheila Smith-Ramirez(Emily's Mother)
Phone#210-223-5317
Theresa Yeary-Dontrich(Emily's Aunt)
Phone #573-762-2327
Please help us find who murdered Emily Jeanette Garcia and her unborn son Emilio. It has been
nearly 14 years for our family since her murder and we need answers.