Henry Moreno,46, 8/6/1998,Sacramento,CA

[nanabillie]

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1200623.html


Sacramento family holds on to hope 10 years after man's disappearance

By Kim Minugh - kminugh@sacbee.com (kminugh@sacbee.com)

Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, September 1, 2008


http://media.sacbee.com/smedia/2008/08/31/20/267-1M1MORENO.embedded.prod_affiliate.4.JPG (http://media.sacbee.com/smedia/2008/08/31/20/903-1M1MORENO.standalone.prod_affiliate.4.JPG)
Mario Moreno wears a button recalling his brother Henry's disappearance Aug. 6, 1998, as he was set to open his dream restaurant on the Sacramento River. Ten years later, the family will dedicate a tree and bench to Henry Moreno in East Portal Park, and try to move on. Randall Benton / Sacramento Bee file, 2005

August marked the 10th anniversary of Henry Moreno's mysterious disappearance, the 10th summer his heartbroken family has fought to keep the case alive.
They will commemorate the milestone with a red oak tree and concrete bench dedicated to Henry in East Portal Park. They will hold one last candlelight vigil, and then they will try to move on.


"Henry wouldn't want us to be angry. He wouldn't want us to be sad every year," said Carlos Moreno, one of Henry's 11 siblings.
In August 1998, Henry Moreno, 46, was on the brink of opening his dream restaurant on the Sacramento River. He was seen at Home Depot on Aug. 6, and at a local cafe he frequented. Then he vanished.
His disappearance is a mystery in every sense of the word. There have been no bank account or credit card changes, no cell phone activity. His car, a 1997 white Nissan Pathfinder with a California license plate of 3VLP084, has never been found.
Ten years later, there is "absolutely nothing" new in the case, said Sacramento police Detective Pat Keller.

Follow link for complete story

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How incredibly sad this case is. My prayers go out to the Moreno family for continued strength in their battle to find their loved one.

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An older article

http://www.mtdemocrat.com/news/missing102698.shtml

Local man seeks clues to brother's disappearance
"There are too many unanswered questions. There are too many things that have no explanation." -- Shingle Springs resident George Moreno, on his brother Henry's disappearance in August.


By ELIZABETH BUCCERI Staff writer


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It's been two months since George Moreno of Shingle Springs has last seen his brother, but the pain only grows as time goes by.

"The shock intensifies more every day," he said.

No one has seen or heard from Henry Moreno since August, when he disappeared without a trace from Sacramento.

And George Moreno has vowed never to give up hope in the search for his brother. He and his family have organized a motorcycle ride and barbecue on Saturday to help fund a $100,000 reward for finding his brother.

"The reward is in the hopes of finding some clues to where he is, or at least to put a closure to this," said Moreno.

Henry Moreno, a Sacramento resident, was last seen Aug. 6, just days before the grand opening of his restaurant La Mansion Del Rio, overlooking the Sacramento River on the Garden Highway.

That morning, Henry made a trip to Courtland to pick up some items for the restaurant. On the way home, he stopped by a Mexican restaurant he frequented for an early lunch. That was the last time anyone saw him.

In the days following his disappearance, searchers scoured the area looking for him, believing maybe he was in a traffic accident or was the victim of a heinous crime.

"We searched the river all the way to Walnut Grove," said his brother. "We checked every slough, every pond, every drainage ditch...But with no luck, no clues. It's like all of a sudden, he vanished."

To this day, not a single clue has emerged to help solve the puzzle of what happened to Henry Moreno. His white 1997 Nissan Pathfinder has never been recovered. His cell phone hasn't been used since, nor have his credit cards.

Rumors on what may have happened quickly spread throughout Henry's large family; he was one of eight boys and five girls.

"Everyone has their own theories. Everyone has their own ideas," said George Moreno, the eldest of the brothers.

The most common theory behind Henry's disappearance is that he willingly ran away to escape stress and financial burden caused by his restaurant. Many feared he could no longer handle the pressure, leaving his debt to his family.

But George Moreno said his brother was not the type to run away, especially because he had spent nearly four years repairing and restoring the riverfront property.

"He spent three and a half years and three-quarters of a million dollars on the restaurant," said Moreno. "You don't just up and leave days before it opens."

Moreno said with the exception of $200, all of the money in his brother's bank account was accounted for, making the commonly-held theory that he fled to Mexico unlikely. In fact, police even found $800 in cash lying on top of his dresser, unlikely for someone running away to start a new life.

"There are too many unanswered questions. There are too many things that have no explanation," said Moreno.

Moreno said it is also unlikely his brother willingly left behind his 16-year-old daughter, Kerryn, who also put a lot of elbow grease into getting her dad's restaurant open.

"He was very much in love with his daughter. Besides his job, she was his life," said Moreno. "...And it's hard for a 16-year-old young woman to understand why her father isn't there."

Moreno said his parents are also broken up over the mystery surrounding their son.

"This is tearing them up," said Moreno. "Parents are supposed to outlive their kids."

Moreno said the police still classify his brother's disappearance as a missing person's case, although he is certain foul play was involved.

"My brother isn't missing. My brother was taken from us," he said.

Moreno said the outpouring of support by family, friends and even total strangers has been helpful in overcoming his grief over the loss of his brother. He said volunteers sacrificed much of their time during the search.

Moreno said at one point in the days immediately following the search, he, his mother and other searchers were looking for clues near the Sacramento River. A homeless woman asked what was going on, and when Moreno's mother told her, she dug through a shopping cart she was pushing and handed her a five-dollar bill.

Although La Mansion Del Rio had its grand opening celebration without Henry Moreno, it never opened for business. Financial strain has forced the family to put their brother's restaurant up for sale. Although buyers are considering the property, nothing has yet been finalized, said Moreno.

The Moreno family will continue to search for clues into Henry's disappearance, no matter what the outcome. But until then, many feel helpless, as few leads are out there.

"We're like a vehicle stuck in the mud," said Moreno. "We're spinning our wheels with no place to go."

Saturday's ride will not only benefit the reward fund, but will also benefit another fund to help other families who have been through similar situations, said Moreno.

Sign-ups for the ride will begin at 9 a.m. at Vallejo's Restaurant at 4th and S streets in downtown Sacramento. Free coffee and pastries will be available before the ride, which departs at 10:30. The ride will end at Wimpy's Restaurant in Thorton, where a barbecue and raffle will be held beginning at 1 p.m.

The cost of the ride is $20 per person, and includes the barbecue. All types of motorcycles are welcome. For those not wanting to ride, tickets can still be purchased for the barbecue and raffle.

A group of participants, including George Moreno, will be leaving El Dorado County for Sacramento prior to the ride. They are meeting at Safeway in Cameron Park at 7:30 a.m.

For more information about the ride, call 677-5426.

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http://cbs13.com/local/henry.moreno.memorial.2.988564.html
Apr 18, 2009 10:51 pm US/Pacific
10 Years On, Family Builds Memorial To Missing ManSACRAMENTO (CBS13) ¯

CBS



Investigators have been unable to crack the cold case of a 46-year-old restaurant owner who disappeared more than a decade ago, but family members are refusing to give up hope.

The family of Henry Moreno says the 10 years since he disappeared just days before the grand opening of his restaurant have been difficult. Trails have gone cold since he was last seen leaving a Sacramento hardware store, but relatives are fighting to keep his case alive, and are honoring him with a memorial.

"This is a little something to get our family back on track and give mom and dad peace of mind," said Mario Moreno, Henry's brother.

An oak tree and memorial bench with a plaque stands tall in Henry's neighborhood park, a monument to Henry's memory and a reminder of his disappearance.

"We have no grave site, we have nowhere to go," said Martha Bonfiglio, Henry's sister. "Our love is so strong that we're not going to give up."

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http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/m/moreno_henry.html