CA Alison Chao, 15-year-old girl Missing in San Gabriel Valley Last seen 7/16/24

[MntnHiker]

When I first started following Alison's case, I thought, maybe she just wanted some time to ride around (from boredom? Clear her head?) before heading to her aunt's so planned a longer, roundabout ride and then would head to the aunt's. But the more I learned, I don't think that anymore (locals here have advised it's not likely someone would just go biking around here to go biking; plus she seems to have been headed toward a neighborhood in this last sighting). I now think she had another destination in mind all along, probably somewhere she's been before.

My questions right now are mainly: What time was she supposed to be at the aunt's? Was the aunt aware she said she was coming over? Or was that a story she told her parents alone? If she also told her aunt she was coming over at X time, then I would think that wouldn't allow her to head somewhere else first/instead of, as the aunt would probably raise the alarm quickly that she never arrived.

 

[webraccoon2234]

Intentional to drive up Collis and not cut left at Via Mia. Upper Via Colina and Via Marisol. Has to be a section or building that can only be accessed easily by turning onto Lomita. Or easier in her eyes.

 

[vls12345]

They have gray areas marked to indicate where they have passed out posters, talked to people, etc.

Since last night, it looks like they may have added another street and area slightly to the NW of Alison's last confirmed sighting. Imo. (Maybe it was there last night but I don't remember seeing it.) One is almost an "S" shaped section along N Figueroa.

Eta: If she ended up turning on Via Marisol heading west, there is a bike path further west (before the 110 parkway): the Arroyo Seco Bike Path. Could she have been heading to that?

Arroyo Seco Bike Path | California Trails | TrailLink

Arroyo Seco Bike Path spans 2.1 from Marmion Way south of Arroyo Verde St (South Pasadena) to Montecito Heights Recreation Center on Mosher Ave (Mt. Washington, Los Angeles). View amenities, descriptions, reviews, photos, itineraries, and directions on TrailLink.

www.traillink.com

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

I think Collis Avenue is flatter and less winding than Via Marisol, and therefore easier to cycle. But I don't think it's accidental that Alison rode so far north; I don't think she was intending to come all the way back south again.

Lomitas Drive leads into the Monterey Hills neighbourhood, but Via Marisol is also the main overpass into Northeast Los Angeles.

In red is the route we know Alison took. If she had continued west on S Ave 60 she would have ended up in Highland Park, which I've marked in blue. By heading onto Via Marisol she's presumably either somewhere south in the Monterey Hills neighbourhood (marked in green), or she went west along Via Marisol (marked in orange) and could be almost anywhere in the Los Angeles / Glendale / Highland Park / Pasadena area--or perhaps even farther away.

 

[LAhiker]

They have gray areas marked to indicate where they have passed out posters, talked to people, etc.

Since last night, it looks like they may have added another street and area slightly to the NW of Alison's last confirmed sighting. Imo. (Maybe it was there last night but I don't remember seeing it.) One is almost an "S" shaped section along N Figueroa.

Eta: If she ended up turning on Via Marisol heading west, there is a bike path further west (before the 110 parkway): the Arroyo Seco Bike Path. Could she have been heading to that?

Arroyo Seco Bike Path | California Trails | TrailLink

Arroyo Seco Bike Path spans 2.1 from Marmion Way south of Arroyo Verde St (South Pasadena) to Montecito Heights Recreation Center on Mosher Ave (Mt. Washington, Los Angeles). View amenities, descriptions, reviews, photos, itineraries, and directions on TrailLink.

www.traillink.com

It's a good thought that she may have been heading towards the Arroyo Seco Bike Path. Maybe, instead of heading towards some other destination, her intention was to ride her bike and loop around and end up at her aunt's. (Is it known what time she said she'd be at her aunt's?) And then something happened...

I wonder whether there are any cameras on the bike path, or whether other camera sightings will show that she was NOT on the bike path.

JMO

 

[Emi]

https://fox40.com/news/southern-california-girl-15-vanishes-while-riding-bike-to-relatives-home/

 

[Chelly]

This assumes someone harmed Alison and we have no evidence of that at present.

Five days have passed without sight or sound from Alison, nor has her bike been found. A reasonable theory suggests abduction. It's also possible she is a run away. It would be helpful to know what was happening in her home life.

 

[LAhiker]

Five days have passed without sight or sound from Alison, nor has her bike been found. A reasonable theory suggests abduction. It's also possible she is a run away. It would be helpful to know what was happening in her home life.

Some other possibilities:
-An attack without abduction, but in which neither she nor her bike have been found yet.
-A bicycle accident -- if she went on a winding hilly road/trail, whether in a neighborhood or in a park (such as Debs Park*), she could have ended up in a ravine.
-A planned meeting with someone she met online but who was up to no good. (That could also involve abduction, of course.)

*I'm not sure but think that in Debs Park, bikes are only allowed on paved roads. Does anyone know whether the bike she was riding was a regular bike or a mountain bike? From the photos, it looks to me like a regular bike, but I'm not a cyclist and am not sure.

JMO

 

[sasha17]

Some other possibilities:
-An attack without abduction, but in which neither she nor her bike have been found yet.
-A bicycle accident -- if she went on a winding hilly road/trail, whether in a neighborhood or in a park (such as Debs Park), she could have ended up in a ravine.
-A planned meeting with someone she met online but who was up to no good. (That could also involve abduction, of course.)

JMO

Whenever someone and their car both go missing, there's often a possibility that they could have veered off the road and ended up in a large body of water. I wondered the same about Alison and her bike. Perhaps not a body of water in this case but how about ravines, steep embankments with brush? What is the topography at Debs Park like?

 

[Emi]

Debs Park Rd · Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA

www.google.com

here is how the park looks like

 

[Maat99]

Five days have passed without sight or sound from Alison, nor has her bike been found. A reasonable theory suggests abduction. It's also possible she is a run away. It would be helpful to know what was happening in her home life.

Leaving without her phone is significant imo. To me that means she disappeared on purpose and doesn’t want to be found. MOO

 

[charminglane]

Whenever someone and their car both go missing, there's often a possibility that they could have veered off the road and ended up in a large body of water. I wondered the same about Alison and her bike. Perhaps not a body of water in this case but how about ravines, steep embankments with brush? What is the topography at Debs Park like?

Ernest E. Debs Regional Park

Debs Regional Park in the Arroyo Seco is a terrific hiking park near Mount Washington and Highland Park with an Audubon Center.

modernhiker.com

 

[sasha17]

Leaving without her phone is significant imo. To me that means she disappeared on purpose and doesn’t want to be found. MOO

I'm not sure about this. My daughter is also 15 and often leaves her phone at home. I think we'd have to know more about Alison and her phone use habits, how long she was planning to be out for, etc.

 

[charminglane]

Have we heard if Alison is on any sport teams or participates in any extracurriculars?
Trying to get a feel for her circle of exposure through school or interests.

 

[LAhiker]

Whenever someone and their car both go missing, there's often a possibility that they could have veered off the road and ended up in a large body of water. I wondered the same about Alison and her bike. Perhaps not a body of water in this case but how about ravines, steep embankments with brush? What is the topography at Debs Park like?

I haven't been to Debs Park, but based on seeing it from afar and from this topo map, it is hilly and has some steep drop-offs:

https://www.topozone.com/california/los-angeles-ca/park/ernest-e-debs-regional-park/

Via Marisol, though not so steep itself, also has steep drop-offs. Though if she was riding south on Via Marisol, she would have been on the opposite side of the street from the drop-offs.

Meanwhile, the Arroyo Seco bike path is fairly flat -- it's down in the Arroyo. It think there the dangers are more likely to be human ones.

ETA: When I investigate further, Via Marisol is very wide and doesn't have many drop-offs. Most but not all of it is between hills rather than being on the side of a hill. Still, the area in general does include ravines and steep hills.

JMO

 

[charminglane]

I haven't been to Debs Park, but based on seeing it from afar and from this topo map, it is hilly and has some steep drop-offs:

https://www.topozone.com/california/los-angeles-ca/park/ernest-e-debs-regional-park/

Via Marisol, though not so steep itself, also has steep drop-offs. Though if she was riding south on Via Marisol, she would have been on the opposite side of the street from the drop-offs.

Meanwhile, the Arroyo Seco bike path is fairly flat -- it's down in the Arroyo. It think the dangers there are more likely to be human ones.

JMO

Exactly.
The Arroyo is a beautiful and quiet oasis. With people living in it.

 

[TexLil]

Hoping to hear more updates from her family soon.

Please let this be a big misunderstanding with Alison hiding out at a friend's home.

 

[LAhiker]

Alison was seen going south on Via Marisol. (That is, if southbound means what I think it does, which is in an easterly direction at that point in the road.) If she continued in that direction, it would imply she wasn't going towards the Arroyo Seco bike path at that point. She could have been going to Debs Park, though that would be a roundabout route. Or maybe she was looping around to go back, go to her aunt's, etc., and then something happened?

It looks like they flyered the nearby streets -- maybe some further sightings will clarify her route.

JMO

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Alison was seen going south on Via Marisol. (That is, if southbound means what I think it does, which is in an easterly direction at that point in the road.) If she continued in that direction, it would imply she wasn't going towards the Arroyo Seco bike path at that point. She could have been going to Debs Park, though that would be a roundabout route. Or maybe she was looping around to go back, go to her aunt's, etc., and then something happened?

It looks like they flyered the nearby streets -- maybe some further sightings will clarify her route.

JMO

The most recent image on the tracker map shows Alison heading south on Lomitas Drive towards Via Marisol, but from there it's not yet clear if she turned east or west.

Turning left (east) at the junction of Lomitas and Via Marisol would have taken her south on Via Marisol, as you noted. Turning right would have taken her west towards Monterey Road, Debs Park, the Arroyo Seco bike path, the overpass towards Northeast Los Angeles, or any number of other places.

Which way she turned at the Lomitas/Via Marisol intersection is crucial.

 

[Goecke]

Is it possible Alison has a second phone that her parents don't know about? My coworker has a daughter similar in age to Alison, and she recently caught her with a "secret" phone after her phone was taken away/had strict parental controls put on it. Apparently the girl convinced her friend's parents to buy her the phone.
From her bike route, it seems like she has a destination in mind and isn't just biking around aimlessly. Unless the route she took is a route she's taken often/is very familiar with, it seems unlikely she took such a direct path without any navigation/from memory. It could be possible she's run away to a friend's house or something, but I'm concerned she's meeting up with someone she met online.