As early evening traffic bustled through the intersection of Southwest 13th Street and University Avenue on Thursday night, dozens of flickering candles illuminated the northeast corner of UF’s campus.
About 30 people, most of whom had never met Christian Aguilar, crowded around a makeshift memorial. Two banners, each featuring a picture of him smiling, hung on a brick wall.
The Rev. William H. Russell Jr., from the United New Testament Church International, initiated the evening vigil with a prayer.
Despite the traffic making him hard to hear, people packed tightly around Russell, 51, to listen as he spoke about Aguilar, the 18-year-old UF freshman who went missing Sept. 20.
Russell said he has never met Aguilar, but from what friends and family have told him about the former Miami resident, he described Aguilar as someone “I would have been proud to have known.”
Russell’s brief speech centered around a common theme: instilling hope of finding Aguilar.
“Chris has not been forgotten,” Russell said. “Chris will be found.”
But at this point, nearly a month after Aguilar went missing, police and many volunteers have shifted their focus to recovering his body.
Pedro Bravo, an 18-year-old Santa Fe College student, was recently indicted by an Alachua County grand jury on murder and kidnapping charges. He remains in the Alachua County Jail.
At Thursday’s vigil, Susan Joyner, 49, said she felt connected to the Aguilar family — her 19-year-old son attends college in Oklahoma.
Joyner said she doesn’t usually follow missing person stories, but the Aguilar case was different.
“This one really spoke to me personally,” she said.
The search party has a Facebook group — now about 14,000 members strong — and with each old picture of Aguilar they post, his personality seems to shine through the screen, touching people like 28-year-old Alisha King.
“You feel like you missed out on somebody because he was someone who you really wanted to know,” she said.
The vigil was one of three simultaneous gatherings scheduled for Thursday.
Angela LaPiana, a 19-year-old political science senior, said about 200 people attended the vigil in Sweetwater. A third was held with Aguilar’s extended family in Cali, Colombia.
Back in Gainesville, a supporter taped an Iron Man picture onto the wall, a tribute to Aguilar’s favorite superhero, LaPiana said.
“He’s been able to touch so many lives,” she said. “He’s not a superhero, but a super human being.”
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
Gainesville residents Jessica Canterbury, 24, left, and Shane Russell, 24, right, participate in a candlelight vigil for missing UF student Christian Aguilar on the corner of Southwest 13th Street and West University Avenue. Aguilar went missing on Sept. 20, and numerous police and volunteer led searches have turned up nothing.
The Reverend William H. Russell Jr., 51, from The United New Testament Church International speaks at a candlelight vigil held for missing Christian Aguilar on the corner of Southwest 13th Street and West University Avenue Thursday evening. Christian Aguilar went missing on Sept. 20, Pedro Bravo, the main suspect in the disappearance was indicted with murder and kidnapping charges on Monday.
