As awareness of missing person cases increases nationwide, friends and family of 30-year-old Lauren "El" Cho, who disappeared near Joshua Tree National Park in California in June, are asking people to bring the same energy to finding her.
“Where is my sister?!” a sibling posted on Facebook in August. Since early July, the family has run a page called “Missing Person: Lauren ‘El’ Cho” to raise awareness as they wait for updates from authorities. Recent interest in missing persons cases, fueled by the disappearance and death of Gabby Petito, inspired some friends of Cho to spread her story on Twitter.
Cho, a resident of New Jersey, went missing on June 28 around 5 p.m. when she left her Airbnb on a remote, mountainous trail in Yucca Valley, California. Cho was traveling with her friends and ex-boyfriend, and they told police that when they last saw her, she walked away from the residence and into the desert with no food, water or cellphone.
Police conducted an aerial search almost a month later, on July 24, and on July 31 they searched the property where Cho had been staying. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department told NBC Asian America that the search for Cho has never stopped, but the Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division became involved this month after the local police had “exhausted their investigation.”
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