SAN ANTONIO – The summer of 1990 in San Antonio ended in tragedy.
August marks 33 years since 11-year-old Heidi Seeman and 7-year-old Erica Botello were abducted and killed.
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Heidi was abducted on Aug. 4, 1990, as she was walking home from a friend’s house. She was last seen walking west on Stahl Road near Willow Run Street.
Witnesses told police that a shiny red car with tinted windows was driving in the area where Seeman was last seen.
Just weeks later, on Aug. 23, 1990, Erica was playing outside her West Side apartment when she was abducted.
Her father told authorities he briefly went inside and returned to find her missing.
Two days later, their bodies were found miles apart.
Their cases were deemed unrelated, but to this day, neither have been solved.
It was a month that changed San Antonio forever.
“At the time it was the largest search in FBI history. At one point I know we had over 8,000 volunteers. I helped work at the command post and delivered the flyers to different places,” Vanessa Tate, an original volunteer who later served as Heidi Search Center president, previously told KSAT.
Many mourned the deaths of both girls and their funerals were even held on the same day, Aug. 29.
The big question lingered -- who committed these murders?
Three men were accused of killing Botello, but due to lack of evidence, none were ever charged. No suspect was ever determined in Seeman’s case.
The Heidi Search Center was created soon after and was named after Heidi. Tate was president for seven years, helping families of missing children access resources.
Sadly, the center closed in 2018 due to a lack of funding.
That’s why Tate said it’s more important than ever to remember the girls whose cases are still cold 30 years later.
“It affected everyone. It doesn’t matter who you were. If you were here in San Antonio, you know these cases,” she previously told KSAT. “It’s hard because it’s been so long and you want to hold out hope.”
If you have any information about the Heidi Seeman or Erica Botello case, you can call the San Antonio Police Department Cold Case Tip Line at 210-207-7635.