California teen missing for a week found safe

A teenage girl who was missing for a week in Monterey Park has been found safe, according to her father’s attorney.

Alison Chao, 15, was found Tuesday morning with the help of the Glendale Police Department, according to the Monterey Park Police Department.

She turned up at a television station in Glendale, accompanied by a “good Samaritan” who recognized her, said Jose Romero, a lawyer and spokesperson for father Jeffery Chao.

The area, Chao said, is not far from a relative’s home in Northeast Los Angeles.

“Monterey Park Police Department extends its appreciation to community members and the many local, state and federal partners for their assistance during the investigation,” the department said Tuesday.

Romero, who organized a news conference Tuesday, added, “She is absolutely safe.”

It wasn’t clear exactly what the girl was doing during her weeklong disappearance or whether she was with anyone, the lawyer said.

She was last seen July 16 in the El Sereno area around 6:30 p.m. when she was riding her bike heading toward an aunt’s house in the city of San Gabriel, according to the teen’s parents.

Monterey Park Police launched the search for her at around 9:30 when she didn’t show up. 

An aunt and a 15-year-old friend, speaking at the news conference, said they believe the girl ran away after learning she would be placed in the full-time custody of her mother on a temporary basis amid her parents’ ongoing divorce.

The aunt did not want her name used, saying she’s a private person unused to television cameras. The 15-year-old friend’s name was withheld because he’s a minor, Romero said.

“What is undisputed factually was that she left of her own accord on her bicycle,” Romero said Tuesday.

The father’s family law attorney, Hannah Bui, said the mother was granted temporary custody last week “for mental health.” She said the matter would be revisited soon in court.

The girl has been living with her father since early spring 2023, according to both lawyers at the news conference.

Romero said Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has been involved in the family’s situation, prior to her disappearance, and was sending personnel to the Monterey Park Police Department offices, where the girl was being “held” on Tuesday.

Alison’s mother, who had urged volunteers to help find her daughter, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but said a statement was forthcoming.

Chao’s family and volunteers from the community have been posting flyers around the area in an effort to find her.

Volunteers helped in a coordinated search this past weekend going door to door in the neighborhoods she was spotted riding her bike through.

Another search party was set to meet Monday evening at Fresco Market in Hermon, which is near the last location Alison was spotted. Many volunteers, who don’t know the family, were helping with the efforts to find her.

“It’s a 15-year-old girl. So I just want to help out,” said Guy Hashimoto, a volunteer with the search group. “Like everybody else, it just breaks your heart. You just want to help out if it’s passing out flyers, helping with the search, whatever. Whatever I can do to help out.”

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