Ylva Hagner's Memorial Friends marked the anniversary of Ylva's disappearance (Oct. 14, 1996) by holding a memorial service in Palo Alto's Arastradero Preserve. About 30 people gathered around a newly planted live oak tree in the hills above Palo Alto and exchanged stories and remembrances of Ylva. The service evoked the memory of a kind, funny woman. It was good to talk about Ylva alive and to temporarily put aside discussion of her disappearance. A tree is an especially appropriate memorial for Ylva, because she loved nature and the outdoors. As a full moon rose over the hills, friends lit candles (something Ylva would have loved) and placed them in a circle around the tree. Marshall Bern, who led the ceremonies, said that the candles represented "not hope, but remembrance. (...) We should remember Ylva as more than someone who disappeared. I remember her as a vivid, energetic, wonderful person with this marvelous angelic face. She made every activity special". The tree stands near the highest point in the park on the site of the original ranch house. Ylva's Tree is growing very well. This past winter, El Nino brought a great deal of rain to California and the tree has grown.
Help us find Ylva March 1998: Ylva's case is still very much unsolved. There was a flurry of activity in March 1997, when the police searched a vacant home on Page Mill Road, but nothing substantial has happened since then. If you have any information about Ylva's disappearance, please contact the police: Belmont Police by email or telephone at 650.595.7400 Palo Alto Police, Detective Luis Verbera, at 650.329.2348
Native wild flowers near her tree...