Fifteen-year-old Alison Chao was discovered Tuesday morning with the help of Glendale Police Department.
A teenage girl who had been missing for a week in Monterey Park has been safely located, according to her father’s attorney.
Fifteen-year-old Alison Chao was discovered Tuesday morning with the assistance of the Glendale Police Department, the Monterey Park Police Department confirmed.
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She appeared at a television station in Glendale, brought in by a “good Samaritan” who recognized her, stated Jose Romero, a lawyer and spokesperson for her father, Jeffery Chao.
The location, Chao noted, is close to a relative’s home in Northeast Los Angeles.
“The Monterey Park Police Department extends its gratitude to community members and the numerous local, state, and federal partners for their help during the investigation,” the department announced Tuesday.
Romero, who arranged a press conference on Tuesday, confirmed, “She is completely safe.”
Details about what Alison did during her weeklong disappearance or if she was with anyone remain unclear, according to the lawyer.
She was last seen on July 16 around 6:30 p.m. in the El Sereno area while riding her bike toward her aunt’s house in San Gabriel, her parents reported.
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The Monterey Park Police initiated the search at approximately 9:30 p.m. when she failed to arrive.
During the news conference, an aunt and a 15-year-old friend suggested that Alison might have run away after learning she would temporarily be placed in her mother’s full-time custody amid her parents’ ongoing divorce.
The aunt, preferring to remain unnamed due to her privacy and discomfort with media attention, and the minor friend, whose name was withheld, spoke at the event.
“What is factually undisputed is that she left of her own accord on her bicycle,” Romero stated on Tuesday.
The father’s family law attorney, Hannah Bui, mentioned that temporary custody was granted to the mother last week for “mental health” reasons, with the issue to be revisited in court soon.
Alison has been living with her father since early spring 2023, according to both lawyers at the press conference.
Romero added that the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services had been involved in the family’s situation before her disappearance and was sending staff to the Monterey Park Police Department, where Alison was being held on Tuesday.
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Alison’s mother, who had urged volunteers to assist in finding her daughter, did not immediately respond to a request for comment but promised a forthcoming statement.
Alison Chao’s family, along with community volunteers, had been distributing flyers to help locate her.
This past weekend, volunteers conducted a coordinated search, canvassing neighborhoods where Alison was seen riding her bike.
Another search party was organized to meet Monday evening at Fresco Market in Hermon, near her last known location. Many volunteers, unfamiliar with the family, were involved in the search efforts.
“It’s a 15-year-old girl, and I just want to help out,” said Guy Hashimoto, a volunteer. “Like everyone else, it breaks your heart. You just want to assist, whether by distributing flyers or joining the search. Whatever I can do to help out.”