"Ophelia"

Ophelia was a bride of god
A novice Carmelite
In sister cells the cloister bells
Tolled on her wedding night

Ophelia was a rebel girl
A blue stocking suffragette
Who remedied society
Between her cigarettes

Ophelia was a sweetheart
To the nation over night
Curvaceous thighs
Vivacious eyes
Love was at first sight...

Ophelia was a demigoddess
In pre war Babylon
So statuesque a silhouette
In black satin evening gowns

Ophelia was the mistress to a
Vegas gambling man
Signora Ophelia Maraschina
Mafia courtesan

Ophelia was a circus queen
The female cannonball
Projected through five flaming hoops
To wild and shocked applause...

Ophelia was a cyclone, tempest
A god damned hurricane
Your common sense
Your best defense
Lay wasted and in vain

Ophelia'd know your every woe
And pain you'd ever had
She'd sympathize
And dry your eyes
And help you to forget...

Ophelia's mind went wandering
You'd wonder where she'd gone
Through secret doors
Down corridors
She'd wander them alone
All alone...

Memorial 2010

21 Years

We take a moment today, Aug 6th, to remember Elisa

Beautiful sister
Beautiful soul
Beautiful eyes that never grow old

The memory of you
like a shadow that fades
but today the pain is sharp like a blade

Let me be sad today
Let me feel the pain
Let it pour on me like the torrential rain

Let the thunder sound and winds blow
Let the storm come
Let there come many let there come none

Twenty-One years ago, we searched for you
we walked miles, we slept none, day in and day out we searched
and still today we search.... ever yearning our hearts crying
searching...searching....for Elisa

Poem by Ruby Messerli

NIN - The Fragile

She shines
in a world full of ugliness
She matters
when everything is meaningless

Fragile
She doesn't see her beauty
She tries to get away
Sometimes
it's just that nothing seems worth saving
I can't watch her slip away

I won't let you fall apart
I won't let you fall apart
I won't let you fall apart
I won't let you fall apart

She reads the minds of all the people
as they pass her by
Hoping someone will see
If I could fix myself I'd...
but it's too late for me

I won't let you fall apart
I won't let you fall apart
I won't let you fall apart
I won't let you fall apart

We'll find the perfect place to go where we can run and hide
I'll build a wall and we can keep them on the other side
but they keep waiting
and picking
and picking
and picking...

It's something I have to do
[I won't let you fall apart]
I was there too
[I won't let you fall apart]
Before everything else
[I won't let you fall apart]
I was like you
[I won't let you fall apart]

Poison- Every Rose has it's Thorn

We both lie silently still
in the dead of the night
Although we both lie close together
We feel miles apart inside

Was it something I said or something I did
Did my words not come out right
Though I tried not to hurt you
Though I tried
But I guess that's why they say

Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn

Yeah it does

I listen to our favorite song
playing on the radio
Hear the DJ say loves a game of easy come and
easy go

But I wonder does he know
Has he ever felt like this
And I know that you'd be here right now
If I could have let you know somehow
I guess

Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn

Though it's been a while now
I can still feel so much pain
Like a knife that cuts you the wound heals
but the scar, that scar remains

I know I could have saved a love that night
If I'd known what to say
Instead of makin' love
We both made our separate ways

But now I hear you found somebody new
and that I never meant that much to you
To hear that tears me up inside
And to see you cuts me like a knife
I guess

Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn

Great White- The Angel Song

Fallen angel ripped and bruised
Think on better days
Life is rude, treats you bad
Tears your wings away
Raise your eyes to star and sky
Believe in fly aways
Take your dreams, your broken schemes
And sweep the past away

Fly lonely angel
Hight above these streets
Fly lonely angel
Far away from mad desire

Hollywood ain't paved with gold
It's just a trick of light
Sunset falls on stars of old
And blinds you with its light
A spiders web of tangled lives
Lays stretched across the hills
From distances it's glistening
Like El Dorado's halls

Fly lonely angel
High above these streets of fire
Fly lonely angel
Far away from mad desire

The dream was light
And fragrant nights
But how were you to know
The streets are hard
They're mean and scared
Where only fools find gold

Fly lonely angel
High above these streets of fire
Fly lonely angel
Far away from mad desire

Fly lonely angel
Spread your wings another way
Fly lonely angel
Find a better way
A better day

Slaughter-Fly to the Angels

Pictures of you
They're still on my mind
You had the smile
That could light up the world
Now it rains
It seems the sun never shines
And I'll drive down
This lonely lonely road
Ooh I got this feelin'
Girl, I gotta let you go
'Cause now you've got to fly
Fly to the angels
Heavens awaits your heart
And flowers bloom in your name
You've got to fly
Fly to the angels
All the stars in the night
Shine in your name
You know it hurts me
Way deep inside
When I turn and look
And find that you're not there
I try to convince myself
That the pain, the pain
It's still not gone.

Cinderella- Don't know what you got til it's gone

I can't tell ya baby what went wrong
I can't make you feel what you felt so long ago
I'll let it show
I can't give you back what's been hurt
Heartaches come and go and all that's left are the words
I can't let go
If we take some time to think it over baby
Take some time, let me know
If you really want to go

Don't know what you got till it's gone
Don't know what it is I did so wrong
Now I know what I got
It's just this song
And it ain't easy to get back
Takes so long

I can't feel the things that cause you pain
I can't clear my heart of your love it falls like rain
Ain't the same
I hear you calling far away
Tearing through my soul I just can't take another day
Who's to blame
If we take some time to think it over baby
Take some time let me know
If you really wanna go

Don't know what you got till it's gone
Don't know what it is I did so wrong
Now I know what I got
It's just this song
And it ain't easy to get back
Takes so long

Do you wanna see me beggin' baby
Can't you give me just one more day
Can't you see my heart's been draggin' lately
I've been lookin' for the words to say

Don't know what you got till it's gone
Don't know what it is I did so wrong
Now I know what I got
It's just this song
And it ain't easy to get back
Takes so long

Don't know what you got till it's gone no
Don't know what it is I did so wrong
Now I know what I got
It's just this song
And it ain't easy to get back
Takes so long

Pretty Girl

Pretty girl with flowers in her hair
Pretty girl with dreams to share
Pretty girl with eyes so bright
Pretty girl with smile delight

Pretty girl no longer here
Pretty girl -- we shed a tear
Pretty girl still in our hearts
Pretty girl we will never part

Poem by Ruby Messerli

Tribute

From my friend WV Merrill
2009

Happy Birthday Elisa

Today you turn 34.

Special Thanks

I would like to thank some very important people who helped make Elisa’s Memorial special and memorable. First, my family and friends who supported and encouraged me through this deeply personal journey. Without them, none of this would have been possible. There are many other wonderful people who have become true lifelong friends through this experience. A simple “thank you” will never be enough to express my deep gratitude and appreciation. On behalf of my family, I especially want to thank Mike Keller (NCMEC) and family friend and private investigator Richard Norgard. Both have spent countless hours on this case without pay and made it their personal mission to bring justice to Elisa. Thank You.

Aransas Pass Independent School District
244 W Harrison Blvd, Aransas Pass
(361) 758-1979

Bianca Castro, Reporter
KRISTV Corpus Christi
bcastro@kristv.com

Craig Worth- Memorial Canvas

Dr. Sue Thomas & APISD
Superintendent of the Aransas Pass Independent School District
361-758-3466 / www.apisd.org.

Janice Granier & Aransas Pass Wal-Mart Employees
Personnel Manager
(361) 758-8518

Manuel De La Rosa, Reporter
KIIITV3 Corpus Christi
mdelarosa@kiiitv.com.

Micheal Cary
editor@aransaspassprogress.com
(361) 758-5391

Michael A. Keller
Chief of Police (ret) FBI NA176
Project ALERT & Team ADAM consultant to the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
NCMEC mkeller@ncmec.org

Microtel Inn
355 E Goodnight Ave Aransas Pass, TX 78336-1913
(361) 758-8000

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
1-800-THE-LOST

Nustar Corp- Donation of the tree

Pastor Kevin of Coastal Oaks Church
Rockport, TX 78382
(361)729.5320

Richard Norgard (Family Investigator)
nauticalguy@hotmail.com

WV Merrill- Headstone Design

For Elisa

On Aug 6,1989 my 13yr old sister Elisa Roberson disappeared. I was 12yrs old at the time. It was the most horrible time in my life. We were sisters- we fought and we played. I was the annoying little sister she was always trying to get rid of and I was always wanting to be just like her. Two years after Elisa disappeared, my mom moved us to Idaho. She feared for our lives. When we were growing up, my mom became involved with a very dangerous man, Ralph Gonzales. He abused us all. He terrorized us. There were many times when we watched my mom get beat so badly that we thought he was going to kill her. He was involved the Mexican Mafia and drug trade. To this day, my mom is convinced that he was the one who was responsible for Elisa's disappearance. However, the police dept did little in that avenue. There were other leads and another person of interest but after 20yrs, we are still looking for answers.

This year marked the 20 yr anniversary of my sister’s disappearance. I decided to go back to Texas and dedicate a memorial in her honor. We had a tree planted at the school she was supposed to have met her friend the day she disappeared. It was capped with a stone that read:

“In Memory of Elisa Roberson and for all the lost children, may they find their way back home.”


There were old friends there that I hadn’t seen in years. The community had done so much to help make this such a beautiful memorial. My trip to Aransas Pass was symbolic of putting my sister to rest and finding some sort of peace. It was the first time I actually allowed myself to mourn my sister's death. But the more I thought I was there for closure the more confused I became. You see... Elisa wasn't dead. When a loved one dies, you know they are deceased. It is a tangible thing that you can "try" to process. But a disappearance? How do you make sense or find closure when there is no definite outcome? There was no closure in this and the longer I was in Aransas Pass the angrier I became. I was angry at the Aransas Pass police department for 20 yrs of not being able to find anything. I was angry at the person responsible. I was angry that I couldn’t go back in time to make things right or change what happened and angry that my sister is not here enjoying life with all of us.

Shortly after the memorial, I spoke to a family friend named Richard Norgard. He is a private investigator. He offered to look into the case pro bono. It is an offer well appreciated and gladly taken. But what do I do with my life now? How to I get back to normal? For years, I put the Elisa's memory away so that I could live a normal life. My mom moved us away to start a new life free of fear and free of the dark shadow following us but it's like I'm in the shadow again. My heart aches for her. She is alive in my heart again and the fear and sadness is so overpowering at times. I wish this could be like the movies where the hero comes to avenge the death of a loved one but it is not like this. It is something I must endure and face and I will never give up until we know what happened to Elisa.

Twenty Years by Richard Norgard- dedicated to the memory of Elisa Roberson

Twenty years of sadness are etched into this stone

Twenty years of wishing that you will come back home

Twenty years of waiting for sunshine to appear

To a family that's known darkness, hopelessness and fear

Twenty years of building from a single grain of sand

The kind of life worth living in a new and different land

It's the hope that springs eternal, that forms a vital part

Is a loved one truly lost if love is in our hearts?

Twenty years of waiting, and today the world is shown

The twenty years of love are etched into this stone

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=731626&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US
http://www.kiiitv.com/news/area3news/52618207.html?corder=regular

http://www.aransaspassprogress.com/articles/2009/08/12/news/news01.txt

http://www.aransaspassprogress.com/articles/2009/06/19/news/news01.txt