After nearly a week of fearing the worst, a family from Northern California says their daughter is safe and sound after disappearing in Los Angeles.
Kellie Lynch — whose daughter Noelle Lynch — wrote a statement on Facebook saying that the 23-year-old has contacted the family.
“We would like to extend our gratitude for all of your prayers for locating our daughter Noelle. Those prayers have been answered and Noelle has reached out to us,” Kellie wrote on the social media platform. “Please, we ask that you respect our family’s privacy at this difficult time. And know that we will share updates with you when we can. Thank you for your love and support.”
On April 8, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that Noelle was missing, after not being seen or heard from since April 3. Authorities say Lynch was last seen leaving an apartment building around 5 p.m. on foot in the 900 block of East Redondo Avenue in Inglewood.
Her father, Mark, spoke with the news outlet SF Gate on April 10 and shared details about what could have led to Noelle disappearing.
He explained that there had been an argument between the parents and their daughter and that she left their home upset on April 1.
“We didn’t know where she was going,” Mark told SF Gate. “And the next thing we knew, she was in an accident in L.A. between 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Tuesday, April 2.”
Mark says Noelle wasn’t injured in the crash, but that her vehicle had been severely damaged. Her parents booked her a hotel near LAX and then drove from NorCal to meet her.
Noelle didn’t stay at the hotel and wasn’t there when her parents arrived. Her father says they received a call from their daughter on April 3 from a “strange person’s phone,” and that Noelle wasn’t coherent during the brief conversation.
Mark says LAPD confirmed that surveillance footage from the Inglewood apartment complex shows Noelle leaving the property without her belongings.
The family adds that Noelle’s phone was found at the Southwest Counter at LAX, but there was no evidence that she ever boarded a flight.
Noelle is a student at Sacramento State University. No further information has been provided about where the 23-year-old is currently located, or how she got in touch with her family.
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