Pamela Butler

Ms. Butler disappeared in February of this year on the eve of Valentines Day from her Brightwood home. Below is an except from the Washington Post. Lets all keep our eyes and ears open to any clues or leads to help the Butler Family find some peace.

Romance is for younger folks, Thelma Butler said. Until she noticed a cluster of heart-shaped red balloons on sale at a grocery store one morning, it hadn't occurred to her that Valentine's Day was near. To an elderly widow living alone, the occasion meant little.

Never again, though, will Feb. 14 be just another day on her calendar.

She waited that Saturday in her small house in Southwest Washington. And she waited and waited. Her daughter Pam Butler, 47, had called two days earlier, saying that she and her boyfriend, Jose Rodriguez-Cruz, wanted to treat her to a Valentine's dinner. They were supposed to pick her up at 3 p.m. for the early bird. Then 3 p.m. came and went.

Thelma Butler, 77, said she had socialized with Rodriguez-Cruz at holiday gatherings last fall and winter but knew little about him. "I thought he was a regular guy -- you know, nice." In her living room, watching the clock tick toward evening that day, she wondered why her daughter hadn't called to say they'd be late.

"I thought, 'She's never done this before.' "

Feeling her first twinge of worry, Thelma Butler said, she dialed her daughter's home and cell phones, but got no answer. "I thought, well, maybe they just decided to go out by themselves for Valentine's." After church the next day, though, when she called her daughter again, she still couldn't reach her.

Pam Butler, a computer specialist for the Environmental Protection Agency, had a compressed work schedule: 10 hours a day, Tuesdays through Fridays, with three days at EPA headquarters and Fridays at home.

Because Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 16, fell on one of her regular days off, she had planned to take Tuesday off for the holiday, giving her a four-day weekend. As Thelma Butler's anxiety worsened Monday, others in the family tried to reassure her, saying that maybe the couple had booked a last-minute Valentine's getaway.

Too scared to go to her daughter's place alone, afraid of what she might find and not having a phone number for Rodriguez-Cruz, Thelma Butler said, she waited until Tuesday. Then she and a posse of relatives descended on Pam Butler's two-story brick home on a corner lot at Fourth and Oglethorpe streets in the Brightwood neighborhood in Northwest Washington.

Walking around inside a house that her daughter normally kept impeccably neat, Thelma Butler said, she thought: Something's definitely wrong.

The relatives found no vivid evidence that Pam Butler had come to harm. They saw no blood, no signs of a struggle or forced entry. What they saw in the house amounted only to puzzle pieces.

But soon the pieces would fit together in their minds.

Read More Here

MPD Missing Person's Report:

The Metropolitan Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a missing person identified as 47-year-old Pamela J. Butler. She was last seen at approximately 9:48 pm, on Thursday, February 12, 2009 in the 5800 block of 4^th Street, NW.

Ms. Butler is described as a dark complexioned black female, 5’3” tall, weighing about 120 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. It is unknown at this time the type of clothes Ms. Butler was wearing at the time of her disappearance.

Anyone with information about Ms. Butler’s whereabouts is asked to call police at 202-727-9099.

Breaking News: Man charged in slaying of D.C. liquor store owner

By Clarence Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 20, 2009

Rufina Hernandez gave two robbers the cash they demanded from her small liquor store. But that didn't keep one of the men from shooting her in the neck and face and killing her. On Thursday, D.C. police said a law enforcement task force had caught one of the men.

The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task force arrested Andres Lopez without incident near Fourth and Kennedy streets NW about 2 p.m. Lopez, 45, of no fixed address, was charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 7 slaying of Hernandez, 51, who owned La Casa De Morata, a corner store in the Brightwood Park area.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) expressed disbelief that Hernandez could be shot for "doing what she was supposed to do" and not fighting the robbers.

"This is probably something that can never be explained," he said at a news conference in front of the store.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said police investigators heard nothing but kind words about Hernandez as they scoured the neighborhood for clues.

Lanier said Lopez had been arrested previously in the area near the store. She declined to say whether Lopez was the suspected shooter or whether the gun used in the slaying was found.

The search for a second suspect continues, and Lanier sought further help from neighborhood residents. She also warned other would-be shooters that police and residents would continue to work together to solve homicide cases.

"People are fed up. They're going to talk to us and tell us where you are," Lanier said.

D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) said Hernandez was loved for being hardworking and helped keep her block clean. She vowed the neighborhood would follow the prosecution of Lopez. "We want the judge to hear the impact of violent crime on this community," Bowser said.

via Washington Post

Food & Friends Fundraiser

Tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 19) TODAY is the last day to order Thanksgiving pies in
support of Food and Friends' wonderful work providing meals and friendship
to people who are homebound due to illness.

The pies may be picked up at any of several CVS locations or at the Food and
Friends facility near Fort Totten metro next Tuesday, Nov 24. They cost
from $25 to $35 and are delicious. You can order pies for your own
celebration, to take to a friend or family get-together, or to be sent to
the Food and Friends clients.

The website is www.foodandfriends.org.

Thank you!

Lee on Butternut

Colorado Cleaners

Colorado Cleaners, originally uploaded by cstein96.

This is an area that I pass by often on the way to VA but have yet to explore. I believe we have a couple of gems back here. Maybe LC and I can venture out soon for a coffee and some treats when our schedules clear up.

Tower in Brightwood - Landscape

Tower in Brightwood - Landscape, originally uploaded by Jason Pier.

Today's photo is brought to you by Mr. Jason Pier (via flickr). This is fitting for this time of year when the sun say's it's last "goodbye" around 5pm and by 7pm you've already curled up on your couch or in your favorite chair and don't plan on moving for the rest of the evening.

Cozy up Brightwood, I hear this winter is going to be especially cold.

DCist had just been wondering when the city was going to get around to raising awareness about the impending 5 cent disposable bag fee, which goes into effect in January 1, 2010, and lo and behold, the “Skip the Bag, Save the River” Education Campaign press release landed in our inbox today.

You can find the bulk of the campaign literature at http://green.dc.gov/bags, but the here's the highlights: 122,000 reusable bags will be given away for free to low-income residents and seniors, and TV, radio and Metro display advertisements should start running soon.

"Our message is simple: the bag fee is coming," Mayor Fenty said in a statement. "I signed this law in July to cut down on the disposable bags that foul our waterways. But we want everyone to know that you can save the river, and 5 cents, if you bring your own reusable bag to the store instead."

The mayor also announced today that the District Department of the Environment has partnered with CVS/pharmacy and Safeway to help promote public awareness of the coming bag fee. Both chains have agreed to distribute additional free reusable bags, CVS/pharmacy is contributing Green Bag Tag cards, which give CVS ExtraCare members $1 back every four times they reuse a bag.

via DCist

I know that LC, Wise and I all use recyclable bags when we go shopping. I even received one from Chegg that I keep in my purse just in case I pick up something while I'm out. I think that this is something that EVERYONE can participate in as far as the DC Green movement goes. I mean how many little plastic bags can one collect and not use before you just give up and throw them away?

Shopkeeper Killed During Armed Robbery

WTTG/FOX5 reports on the devastating crime that left 51-year-old shopkeeper Rufina Hernandez shot dead in her Brightwood liquor store. By all accounts, Hernandez did not resist the two armed men who held her up on Saturday night, but after she handed them money, they shot her anyway. 'Police are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the two suspects. The gunman is described as a medium-skinned black male between 30 and 40 years old. He was last seen wearing a flannel shirt. The second suspect is a dark-skinned Hispanic male about six feet tall, thin and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.' The Post updates that police think the two men might live nearby.

via DCist

I know we here at Brightwood Blog have been MIA but we wanted to post this and to ask our friends and neighbors to keep their eyes and ears open to any clues that might help the MPD catch the assailants.