Colorful butterflies, vibrant flowers and a cuddly teddy bear decorate an East Arlington mural dedicated in memory of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman.
Friends, family and community members gathered Sunday for the unveiling of the memorial, which was repainted this month by artist Patch and his friend, Michelle Feigenbaum. The mural, originally painted by Patch in 2013, is located behind the Abram Street and Browning Boulevard shopping center where Amber was abducted in 1996. The Arlington girl’s tragic death led to the AMBER Alert System, a public notification system that began in Dallas-Fort Worth but is now used by law enforcement to help locate abducted children worldwide.
Patch and Feigenbaum said they decided to repaint the memorial, which features two portraits of Amber, to renew hope that someone will someday come forward with information about her unsolved death.
“This mural means a lot to me. We haven’t forgotten. As long as I’m alive, I’ll be here to paint,” Patch said. “We believe somebody has to know something.”
Even so many years later, Patch said working on the mural was emotional for him. In one portrait, Amber is blowing on a dandelion flower and the seeds that are floating away are transforming into butterflies.
“Every day since we started working on the mural, actual butterflies were coming and landing on her portrait, landing on her name. All of the sudden they were all over the place,” Patch said.
The butterflies aren’t the only winged beauties planned for Amber's memorial. A metal angel sculpture, which is being refurbished by Arlington firefighter Mitch Carey, will soon be installed at the mural site as well.
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