SAN ANTONIO – The somber memorial to Debbie Moberg that was created after her disappearance and murder 32 years ago is now adorned with dozens of colorful, hand-painted rocks that form a Garden of Hope outside the Thousand Oaks Branch Library.
“That’s what we all need — hope,” said Janie Muniz, Debbie’s mother. “I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.”
Muniz met Faye Mazey, a member of San Antonio Rocks, a group with more than 15,000 followers on its Facebook page who appreciate the art of rock painting.
“I don’t know. You can hold it," Mazey said when asked why.
Mazey said although the group has other rock gardens around the city, the Garden of Hope below a tree planted in memory of Debbie decades ago is its first such endeavor.
Mazey said she suggested the Thousand Oaks location because of the existing memorial to Debbie and all missing and abused children.
“This started with 19 rocks about a month ago. Look how it’s grown," she said.
Mazey said admirers are encouraged to leave a rock of their own when they take one that’s there now.
Muniz said the Garden of Hope has given new meaning to her daughter’s memorial.
Since her daughter’s body was never found, Muniz said: “This is her place. This is the place where I come when I want to talk to my daughter.”
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Having lost her own daughter to cancer, Mazey said that was hard enough. “But to lose a child to murder, a senseless murder?”
Muniz said it’s a blessing to know even after more than three decades that people care.