Family of Missing Oakland Woman Asks Public's Help

By Bay City News Service

The family of an Oakland woman who has been missing for five days appealed today for the public's help in finding her.

Steve Torres, the brother of 31-year-old Erica Maskaleris, said, "We know someone saw something. We know she is alive because she could not have disappeared on her own, since that was not like her."

Maskaleris, a native of Fresno who has lived in Oakland for seven years, was last seen on surveillance video passing by a bakery at 34th Street and Telegraph Avenue at about 8 a.m. last Thursday.

Family members and Oakland police said Maskaleris was wearing jogging clothes, as she had recently started jogging several mornings a week. Maskaleris is Hispanic, about 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 220 pounds, with long, curly dark-brown hair. She was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and red tennis shoes.

Speaking at a news conference at the First Congregational Church of Oakland, where Maskaleris is a member of the congregation, Torres said, "Our family is struggling emotionally and physically. This ordeal has taken a tremendous toll on all of us."

A spokeswoman for Maskaleris' family said Maskaleris lost her husband to cancer last year but she did not seem distraught or despondent recently. Maskaleris had been scheduled to fly to Texas to visit her brother the day she disappeared.

Torres said, "Erica was a happy person and was excited about visiting me at my home in Dallas" Thursday night. However, Maskaleris didn't make the trip.

Oakland police said Maskaleris has been seen in West Oakland since she was reported missing.

The family spokesman said family members, friends and volunteers will canvass West Oakland and Mosswood Park three times today. The first effort was to start at 11 a.m. and the others will be at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The spokeswoman also said there will be a vigil for Maskaleris at 34th Street and Telegraph Avenue on Thursday morning.

Maskaleris is operations manager at GeekoSystems, a computer consultation company based in Oakland that she started with her late husband in 2009.

Lopez said family members believe Oakland police were slow in responding when Maskaleris first was reported missing, but that the family is now satisfied that "police are doing everything they can" to find her.

"We're grateful about how hard they are working around the clock on this case," he said.

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