Forty-five years after her disappearance, Elizabeth Gill's family still hopes she's alive

Siblings of Elizabeth Gill, a Cape Girardeau toddler who went missing 45 years ago, say their 2-year-old sister was not the type of child to wander off.

In fact, their bubbly, charming sister was a child who would hardly leave her mother's side, said Gill's sister, Martha Hamilton.

Marking the anniversary of Gill's disappearance on June 13, 1965, Hamilton, with numerous family and community members, gathered at the former Mississippi River bridge site Sunday, where they honored Gill's memory.

Beneath the glow of the setting sun -- just a few blocks from where Gill disappeared -- participants in the vigil carried a candle to symbolize lighting Gill's way home to her family.

A toddler when she disappeared, Gill would be 48 years old this year; her family refuses to give up hope that she may still be alive.

"It's always been a group effort," Hamilton said about the search for her sister. "My mom has stayed sort of in the background with this. ... It's too hard on her emotionally as well as physically. She said to me, 'I just want you to know there's not much I can do but I really thank you girls for continuing.'"

Dorothy Gill, Elizabeth Gill's aunt, said she remembers too well the day her niece disappeared. Less than an hour after she found out, Dorothy Gill rushed to her family's side to offer support.

"She's alive. She's got to be," Dorothy Gill said Sunday before the start of the vigil.

The search for Elizabeth Gill, who was last seen playing in the yard of her home on Lorimier Street, began less than 30 minutes after family members reported her missing. More than 200 people volunteered to help search.

Although the neighborhood was bustling with activity at the time of Gill's disappearance, nobody saw anything that would help police in their investigation, Hamilton said. In addition to volunteers joining the search, officers brought in dogs to track the area.

"The dogs went from the steps of the house to the street and that was it. Then they led the dogs around the neighborhood, causing some to assume she had gone down to the river," Hamilton said. "The dogs did not go on a scent there."

According to Hamilton, investigators' biggest lead was four travelers who were staying at a motel behind the Hamilton residence and selling purses door to door in the neighborhood. They were using various names and license plates on their Chevrolet truck, making them impossible to track.

Currently, police are pursuing a lead out of the northeast region of the United States, although Hamilton wasn't able to elaborate about the information.

She believes technology, including the Internet and social networking sites like Facebook, has created more interest in the case and allowed the family to distribute Gill's story nationwide. The Facebook page created in honor of Gill has nearly 1,800 members.

"When this happened there was no Internet, there wasn't easy communication between police departments even," Hamilton said. "The FBI wouldn't get involved unless you could prove kidnapping, there were no Amber alerts, there was no National Center for Missing [and Exploited] Children, so technology has given us an opportunity to get our information out there if Beth is still looking."

Although the leads in Gill's case have been sparse, the new information that surfaces every so often keeps the family hopeful. They'll remain hopeful, Dorothy Gill said, until they have answers.

"The leads or new ideas through the years, to me, it's God's way of saying don't give up hope," Hamilton said. "She may still be out there. He wants us to keep looking."

ehevern@semissourian.com

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