Leads are wanted by authorities and family members of a woman who disappeared without a trace from her California Airbnb.
30-year-old Lauren “El” Cho was reported to have walked away from an Airbnb at around 5 p.m. on June 28 on the 8600 block of Benmar Trail in Yucca Valley. Around the mountainous location are desert hiking trails and it is situated about a 30-minute drive north of Palm Springs.
“Someone knows something. Maybe someone has seen something, and these pictures will jog their memory,” said Cho’s sister through the Find Lauren Cho Facebook page.
In a statement to Inside Edition, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez said that Cho was with her friends at a rental. She allegedly became “upset” due to an undetermined matter, then she was reported to have walked away without bringing her phone, as well as other necessities like food and water.
She has never been heard from after that day.
Cho’s ex-boyfriend reported her missing some three hours after she left, saying that she had been in “mental distress,” the police said.
She was said to be seeking a “fresh start,” as revealed by a friend to CNN, adding that the relaxed pandemic has given her the chance to travel.
Last July 31, a search warrant was done on the Benmar Trail residence, and another aerial search was done in the “remote mountain terrain near the scene,” but to no avail, according to the recent update released by the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Office.
Foul play was ruled out as the possible reason for her disappearance.
Black-haired Cho is 5-foot-3 in height and weighs 110 pounds. Cho has several distinctive tattoos which include No-Face from “Spirited Away”, a lamb, and a mushroom. She was last seen in a yellow T-shirt and jeans, SFGATE reported.
The investigation is being handled by the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Office and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division. Detective Edward Hernandez or Sergeant Justin Giles is open to accept any details connected to the case through 909-387-3589.
“Just a gentle reminder that El is an actual person who is fiercely loved by many, and we see the posts, comments, and speculations made about her situation, her family, her friends, her mental health… One day, El’s [relatives are] bound to come across all of this because nothing on the internet truly goes away,” said Cho’s sister on Facebook. “So continue to be respectful, good people. Continue to remember her name and that she hasn’t been found yet and we need her home.”
