The night of May 13 was the last time that the patrons at a local bar saw Ramiro “Kimberly” Avila walk out with a man known for his ties to organized crime in Brownsville and Matamoros.
During the night, Avila – popular with clients at Pava's Bar at 934 14th St. – had been joking with the patrons and sitting with the man drinking beer. Some of the clients remember that it was getting near closing time when the two walked out of the door apparently arguing.
The last that was seen of them was as they walked south on 14th Street toward the bus terminal and turned right at the alley next to the Reypres Apartments. From there, residents reported that they had heard Avila and the man in a heated argument walking down the alley and then forced into a car driven by the man's companions.
This version of the night's events has been making the rounds in the local joints on 14th Street and downtown as the news coverage of him going missing stretches past the one-year marks the second Christmas his family has not known of his whereabouts. He was 32 at the time he went missing.
That much has been told detectives with the Brownsville Police Dept. as well, but so far there have been no public announcements of developments in the case. Meanwhile, family members have continued to post pictures of Avila – as a man and dressed as a woman – on store fronts and walls in the downtown area. fears
The family told the Brownsville Herald that they fear his case will be forgotten by community members, and their faith in the police investigation into his disappearance is dwindling. His sister Ivone Rodarte described a relationship with detectives to one of the daily's reporter that has been marred by a lack of communication and callous remarks about Avila
Rodarte feels there’s a lack of attention on her brother’s case because Avila was a member of the LGBT community. He was gay, she said, cross-dressed and was also known by the name “Kimberly.”
“They still have to put effort into looking,” she told the paper. “A detective told my mom because of (Avila’s) lifestyle, he knew something like this was going to happen. Nobody wants to talk.”
Rodarte said that about two weeks before his disappearance, Avila revealed to their family that he was engaged in sex work and that he was ready to stop.
“He had so many plans,” she said. “He was going to look for a job, help me with my son’s graduation, be at every game, and then this happened."
Anyone with information on Avila’s whereabouts can contact the Brownsville Police Department at (956) 548-7800 or Crime Stoppers at (956) 546-TIPS (8477). Donations can be made to the “Kimberly/Ramiro Avila Fund” at any Lone Star National Bank.
“He had so many plans,” she said. “He was going to look for a job, help me with my son’s graduation, be at every game, and then this happened."
Anyone with information on Avila’s whereabouts can contact the Brownsville Police Department at (956) 548-7800 or Crime Stoppers at (956) 546-TIPS (8477). Donations can be made to the “Kimberly/Ramiro Avila Fund” at any Lone Star National Bank.
2 comments:
Good job Brownsville PD detective who told the mom that! I am sure your a professional in the eyes of your supervisor.
Men... they are violent. We all know it was some man who killed her.
No one thinks a woman did it.
Men have desires to fuck and to kill, they only want to win at someone else's expense. Always at someone else's expense. Otherwise it's not a 'win'. It's only a 'win' as long as someone else loses. A 'win' is defined by the extent of someone else's loss. A "big win" means someone else lost a lot, maybe even died.
You take your life into your hands trying to please them. Even a gentle soul like this. Into the wilderness, trying to befriend the wild animals. Goodbye, Avila.
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