Despite what may have seemed like discouraging news from homicide detectives in the disappearance case of Point Loma mother Rosa Lisowski, friends continued Friday to paste up fliers to help find the woman now missing for nearly two weeks.
At the same time, family and friends ” including 12-year-long friend Heather Peterson ” fought in court and organized vigils to keep Lisowski’s image burned in the public eye.
Lisowski, 48, a mother of four, vanished Monday morning, after dropping off her 6-year-old son off at Barnard Elementary School in Point Loma, according to friends and family. Rosa left her older son, Raphael Ramos, 18, to watch over his 4-year-old brother that morning. When Lisowski failed to return as usual, Ramos said he knew something was wrong.
When Lisowski didn’t return or even check in with him, Raphael tried to rationalize, according to his aunt, Veronica Ramos. Because Lisowski was involved in her children’s’ school, Raphael told Veronica he thought Rosa was doing some teacher-parent project. But soon, Raphael became worried and called his aunt. Almost immediately, friends and family said, their thoughts turned to Rosa’s estranged husband, Henry Lisowski.
“Rosa’s like Mother Teresa,” said Peterson. “She just didn’t go missing. Everybody that knew Rosa knew that this was going to happen. Rosa knew it … She just felt hopeless.”
According to police investigators, there are no solid leads in the case. But homicide investigators searched the homes Friday of both Henry and Rosa in Ocean Beach and Point Loma. In addition, police also searched a boat allegedly owned by Henry Lisowski at Mission Bay.
“We’re always hopeful we’ll locate a person,” said Lt. Terry McManus, with the San Diego Police Department. “We interviewed him [Henry] a couple times, then detained him today … [and] served a search warrant.”
McManus said Henry Lisowski is officially a person of interest in Rosa’s disappearance. No formal suspects have been named.
“She was fearful of her ex-husband,” said Veronica Ramos, Rosa’s niece-in-law. “She had concerns for her safety.”
Veronica Ramos gained custody of Rosa’s 4- and 6-year-old boys earlier Friday and said she planned to bring them to her home about four hours away. Veronica Ramos said she was also planning to take Raphael with her. The missing mother has a daughter, Jessica, who is in college.
Veronica said Henry Lisowski did not strike her as the type of man who would be violent, and described Rosa as a strong, resourceful woman. Ramos said the family did not believe in divorce, but after what “Rosa went through, [family members] supported her divorce.”
Family members said Rosa was not the type of woman who would be discouraged by the nasty divorce proceedings and that she would not have fled voluntarily.
“Not Rosa, she’s totally a mom,” Veronica Ramos said. “She’s on parent council. She’s not real complicated. She’s real resourceful.”
Family and friends stepped forward to talk about their fears and concerns Friday night during a candlelight vigil at Barnard Elementary, where a minister spoke both English and Spanish. He thanked police and spoke about Rosa and their church. Friends and neighbors cried and asked that anyone with information about Rosa’s disappearance come forward.
During the vigil, family and friends called Rosa a “ray of light” and a role-model mother, an outpouring that prompted tears from Raphael.
Veronica Ramos said she fears she will not be able to live up to Rosa’s mothering, even as neighbors and friends handed Ramos crinkled bills ” donations to help her raise the boys.
Although Veronica Ramos said she hopes Rosa is still alive somewhere, her hope fades in and out. Because of the attention the case has drawn, she said she thinks it is best for the children to take them away from San Diego.
Raphael said that although Friday’s vigil was difficult to endure, he was glad to have shared in it. A line of community members embraced the 18-year-old as they left the parking lot of the elementary school.
Another candlelight vigil was to taken place at the home of Rosa Lisowski on Saturday night.