Lillian Rochelle Holmes-Missing 28 Years

Lillian Rochelle Holmes

IT WAS six thirty in the morning on Thursday, March 22, 1984 when 21 year-old Lillian Holmes left her home in Pasadena, California for work. She was on her way to start a new temp job at a shopping mall, called Santa Anita Mall, located in Arcadia, California. Hew new job consisted of demonstrating products at Robinsons.
She did not drive, so her usual mode of transportation was taking the bus. A woman claims to have talked to Lillian prior to boarding the bus, and mentioned she was carrying a blue dress over her shoulder that she had picked up from the laundromat. Lillian was boarding an RTD bus at a bus stop nearest to her home, between Lake Avenue and Rio Grande Street around noon and 1 PM. She has never been seen or heard from again.
Lillian's father, Kenneth Holmes, was the last person known to have seen her leaving her home for work on March 22, 1984. (He is not a suspect in this case). It is believed that Lillian never made it to her new job at Santa Anita Mall. It is unknown what had happened during her time of transit between her home in Pasadena, California, and the mall in Arcadia, California.

Lillian was born on January 23, 1963. She is African American, but has a very, very light complexion. (Both parents self-identify as African American, and all family members have a light complexion). She is 5'2"-5'3" and last weighed between 110-125 pounds. She has light to medium brown hair and hazel eyes. (Although it is listed as hazel on NamUs, her family says her eyes have gray/green/hazel tones). She has a dark mole under her chin, as you can see in her photos. Lillian may have been wearing pants borrowed from a family member, and was last seen carrying a blue dress she may have intended to wear at work. It is unknown what other clothing or jewelery items were worn that day. Lillian goes by the nickname Lily, and would be 49 years old today.

Lily Holmes was 21 when she boarded a bus to go to work and vanished (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org).

Lily's disappearance is one that received no publicity whatsoever. Could race have played a part in this, being it was back in 1984? The only newspaper article published on her disappearance was from March 29, 1984. It was just a small notice in the newspaper reading, Missing Woman Sought. The family seemed to have been on their own through this. From what I have read in the article, Lillian's father was the one who spoke to the woman claiming to have talked to Lillian before she boarded the bus for work. It seems as if he was doing his own investigation, leading me to wonder how much effort was put in by law enforcement to find her, especially during the first few hours of her being reported missing.
As for what may have happened to Lily, it's obvious something dark had to have taken place on that 15-20 minute bus ride to Arcadia, or after she exited the bus. The distance from Pasadena to Arcadia would have been 8.5 miles. A very short distance. Could Lillian have met someone with bad intentions on the bus ride, got off with that person(s), to meet with foul play? I have wondered if the bus driver or passengers from that day were interviewed, surely they would have been able to shed some light on that question. I am also curious as to where the bus dropped her off. Was it at a station close to the mall, meaning she may have vanished in the vicinity of the mall or it's parking lot? Or was it a bit of a walk, giving someone more time to abduct her, or entice her into going with them to a different location.

Lillian was in the French club when she was in high school, and was class of 1981. (Photo Credit: Websleuths.com)

  Her case is classified at Involuntary Missing, so it can be assumed the idea that she left on her own accord can be ruled out. Lily was a very beautiful young lady, I can see someone easily enticing her to go with them for a bit, taking her to a second location, where she may have met with foul play. ( It does seem like whomever took her may have been a stranger to her, or someone she knew only as an acquaintance.) If the bus ride from her house to her work was only 15 minutes, I can't see her getting into a car with someone else. I wonder what time she had to be at work by that day? Did she have any extra time to go anywhere?
I do believe Lillian was abducted somewhere between the bus stop where she had exited the bus from and the mall. This is what would make the most sense. What doesn't make sense to me is the time line. According to Charley Project and her NAMUS case file, Lily departed from her home around 6:30 AM, but a witnesses reported her not leaving the bus until Noon or 1:00 PM. So what did she do between 6:30 AM to noon? Why did she leave that early? She already had a dress and shoes she brought along for work, so shopping for a new work outfit would be out of the question. Could she have met up for breakfast with a friend or acquaintance that morning? Were there errands she was running, or was she even applying to more jobs along the way? I also wondered if she ever had a desire to model or if she answered any advertisements in the newspapers? There are some cases, such as the case of Lynne Ruth Connes , also from California, where the ads are actually placed by predators who meet the women in a public place, only to persuade them to go somewhere more private. A scary thought is if the witness was incorrect. Is there a chance she never boarded the bus at all? If that's the case, where did she vanish from, and who may have been the last person to see her between 6:30 AM-1:00 PM?

Joyce Walcott vanished 34 minutes from Pasadena where Lillian vanished. She was applying for jobs in the area & was on foot. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

Thirty-six minutes away from where Lillian vanished while going to a new job, another young woman would also vanish from right off the streets while putting in job applications. On April 29, 1986, two years after Lillian vanished, 19 year-old Joyce Walcott left her aunt's apartment in Reseda, California carrying her birth certificate and several job applications. She met with two friends at Winchell's Donuts, the left shortly after to put in an application at Sav-On-Drugs in the shopping center near Etiwanda Avenue and Sherman Way. The manager of the store said she never came in that day, leading authorities to believe she vanished between her walk from Winchell's Donuts to the shopping center. Like Lillian, she was headed on foot towards the shopping mall when she vanished. It's most likely she was taken sometime during her walk to her next destination. Her case is also unsolved.

Maria vanished in 1989 while looking for a second job. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org)

 Three years after the disappearance of Joyce Walcott, 19 year-old Maria Medina would also vanish from Los Angeles, California, 18 minutes away from where Lillian disappeared years before. On March 3, 1989, Maria left her place of employment around 1:00 PM to go to the area of 9th Street and Los Angeles Street to find a second job. She was carrying a black purse at the time, and it doesn't say whether or not she was on foot. Still, considering her place of work was on east 6th Street and Los Angeles Street, it is most likely she walked since that area was close to her place of employment. Her case is also unsolved, and is the third case in the area where a young woman goes on a short walk to find work, only to end up missing.

Beverly Bealer vanished in 1980. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org).

While searching the NAMUS database for missing persons in California, I also found three other cases not too far from where Lillian vanished. However, these three cases have barely any information to them, so there I can't give any thoughts on whether they are related to any other cases within the area. Still, I wanted to present them just in case, to help get their faces out there as well. First, we have Beverly Bealer, who was only 19 year-old when she vanished on August 20, 1980 from Santa Monica, California, 39 minutes away from where Lillian vanished in Pasadena. She is still missing, but there are no further details. She was 5'4" tall and weighed 115 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white polka-dotted dress with jeans.

Miriam Cavallo vanished in 1983. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org).

On November 23, 1983, 19 year-old Miriam Cavallo went missing from Los Angeles, California, 18 minutes away from Pasadena where Lillian vanished. She is simply listed as missing, so it is unknown if she left of her own accord or not. She was last seen wearing a white sweater vest, pink shoes and white tennis shoes. She was 5'6" tall, weighed 110 pounds and had pierced ears and brown hair with hazel eyes.

Deanna vanished in 1985. (Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org).

 On November 13, 1985, 18 year-old Deanna Lynn Saccone was reported missing by her mother, who said a friend had told her they saw Deanna at the Holiday Inn in Marina Del Ray, California. However, Marian Del Ray did not have a Holiday Inn at the time. She has never been heard from again.She was 5'7" and weighed 110 pounds. She has brown hair and blue eyes. She has slight scoliosis and one of her rib cages is bigger then the other. She may use the alias Catherine Winter.

Lillian's family is still searching for answers, I pray someday they will be given that. I also hope the efforts to find Lillian will be revived. For most missing persons cases (especially ones that seem shady), there is usually an anniversary article at the very least written for them to tell about updates in the case. For Lillian, I have found none. Please share Lillian's story, print out a poster of her and hang it up around your neighborhood. Someone knows what happened to her after she boarded that bus.  

If you have any information as to the whereabouts, or what may have happened to Lily Holmes, please contact:

Lillian is missing from Pasadena/Arcadia, CA and goes by "Lily"(Photo Credit: CharleyProject.org).

 Pasadena Police Dept

626-744-7099

or

E-Mail Tips

ssandeen@cityofpasadena.net

Sources:
Doe Network
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3193dfca.html
NamUs
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/show/14475
Charley Project
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/connes_lynn.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/w/walcott_joyce.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/cavallo_miriam.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/medina_maria.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/saccone_deanna.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bealer_beverly.html