After an extensive weeklong search for a 15-year-old girl who went missing July 16 in the Monterey Park area east of Los Angeles, she was found safe near KABC-TV’s office in Glendale, about 16 miles away, on July 23.
Alison Jillian Chao’s family reported on a website set up to find her that she was located around 11 a.m.
“I'd really like to thank all the friends and community that’s come out to help find her,” Alison’s father, Jeffery Chao, told reporters Tuesday afternoon at a downtown Los Angeles news conference. “We have been really worried about where she’s been, and you know, really appreciate what everybody’s done and helped out with.”
Mr. Chao’s attorney, Jose Romero, said Alison was spotted by a security guard of KABC-TV’s Glendale office—roughly 16 miles northwest of her home in Monterey Park.
He said it was believed Alison was trying to make a statement to the media.
According to Mr. Romero, the security guard saw the girl walking and noticed that she was being trailed by a car, whose driver recognized her as the missing girl and promptly notified the Glendale Police Department.
The girl was taken to the Monterey Park police station, where she was interviewed by law enforcement and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
Alison’s mother, Annie Chao, thanked the person who found her daughter.
“I am incredibly relieved that Alison has been found safe. Alison is my only child, and she means everything to me,” Ms. Chao said in a statement shared with The Epoch Times. “I understand that there was a good Samaritan who helped to escort her to the police, and I specifically want to thank that person for their kindness.”
Monterey Park police Sgt. Rudy Contreras confirmed to The Epoch Times that the girl was located Tuesday morning by the Glendale Police Department and is currently “doing well.”
Because of the ongoing investigation, no further details were released.
Alison was last seen leaving her home at about 5:30 p.m. on July 16 from the 200 block of North Ynez Avenue, according to Monterey Park police.
Surveillance footage captured her riding a blue mountain bike and carrying a black backpack as she headed to her aunt’s house in San Gabriel, but she never arrived, police said.
Police records indicated no signs of foul play or immediate threats to the girl, and she “left on her own accord on her bicycle,” Mr. Romero said. However, details about what happened to the girl or her whereabouts over the past week remain unclear.
Family and friends had launched extensive search efforts in the area while Alison was missing.
Currently, the girl’s parents are undergoing a divorce and custody dispute.
“Alison is a young girl and her feelings about my divorce from her father are understandably complicated, but she has a family that loves and adores her,” Ms. Chao said Tuesday. “She is incredibly talented, intelligent, and loving.”
