Family and friends of the First Congregational Church of Oakland gathered together for a vigil on Sunday for a missing Oakland woman who went missing while jogging on her regular route on 34th and Telegraph streets on Thursday.
Erica Maskalerias, 31, has been going on regular morning jogs in her neighborhood after she lost her husband, Josiah to cancer last February, according to her mother, Gloria Torres. A surveillance video located at a bakery caught Erica running by at 7 a.m., but she never returned home and has been missing since.
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On March 8, 2013, 24 hours after Erica went missing, her family was told that the OPD investigator was in training all day and could not be reached. On March 9, 2013, Gloria and her family were told that the investigator on the case was unable to do work in the community as he was “assigned to office duties.”
“She’s been gone too long. It frightens me,” Torres told KTVU news. “She left with just her ID, her bank card and her phone.”
Family and friends were vocal about their frustration with the Oakland police departments investigation into Erica’s disappearance, and have found support through, The First Congregational Church of Oakland who has united to pray for the return of Erica Maskalerias. During the vigil they recited prayers and broke out into song, “Lord, we need you,” reported KTVU news.
“We stand together to ask the Oakland Police Department,” said Torres. “What would they do if this was their daughter, their sister, their mother?”
Erica is a Hispanic woman with dark brown, long curly hair. She is 5’3” and weighs 220 lbs. She was captured on video walking on 34th and Telegraph in Oakland, CA on Thursday March 7, 2013 at 7:09 am. When last seen, she was wearing a gray sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and red tennis shoes.
There is a $1000 reward for information that leads to the safe return of Erica. Please contact Oakland Police Department at 510-777-3333 (Refer to Case # 13-012049) or her family at 510-230-3078 with any information to her whereabouts.
