Adea's case was discussed on Crime & Justice with Ashleigh Banfileld on HLN a few days ago. Here's the link to the transcript from the show:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1803/06/ptab.01.html
There`s another case coming out of Oscars. And of course, the days following the Oscars are as much about who won as about who lost who got snubbed. But Hollywood itself may have lost something huge. A bright star even before the Oscars got started.
A stunning young actress who lived just about a half mile from the Dolby theater where that party came to life Sunday night. Well, she was so close to Hollywood stardom she could touch it. And she may well have been at the Oscars party this year because she was at those parties in other years. In fact, she went missing just before the big night. One week before the big night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[18:04:57] JAYDEN BRANT, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: She`s 25 years old. She`s from Macedonia. She`s been here in Los Angeles in the states for about 18 months. She is studying acting. We know that she was last seen in the Hollywood area near Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox around 2 p.m. on Friday. That was the last time that she was seen and the last time she made contact with any of her friends. We`re following up on leads, you know, because, you know, that`s the -- that`s the critical stage and that`s the critical time frame we have to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Friends say Adea Shabani left her front door unlocked two Fridays ago and did not show up for a very important acting class. And with her
family thousands of miles away they`re now hitting the streets of L.A. doing everything they can to find her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We tried calling her, messaging her, e-mailing her, Facebooking her, Instagraming her. Every way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not her. This is not her. Something is going on with her. We don`t know where she is. It`s just so sad. We`re just hoping she`s alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: With me now is The Signal senior staff writer Jim Holt. Jim, what is the story? Where do they think Adea might be?
JIM HOLT, SENIOR STAFF WRITER, THE SIGNAL: Well, that`s the whole point. They don`t know because she`s missing obviously. She was reported missing on the 23rd of February from the block on Wilcox where she lived and has not been seen since. Now there was a report apparently that she was seen in our community here in Santa Clarita, but again, that`s just one of the many items that they received that they have to follow up on.
BANFIELD: So that`s an odd part of the story. Because the LAPD said she was last seen I believe in a coffee shop and that she`d been communicating with someone. I think they clarified or qualified as communicating with a friend at the coffee shop. But then as you said the Santa Clarita P.D. said she may have been seen there as well. What`s the discrepancy about, do you know?
HOLT: Well, I think the important word there is may. She may have been. Someone may have, you know, seen the picture of her and said that`s her. But you know, they`re just guessing. But I happen to think that she probably in talking to friends and what have you is it`s not unlikely she`s in a two-year course.
She makes a lot of friends and some of those friends could be from here. This is a big acting talent. A lot of people in the industry. So it`s quite conceivable that she did make friends with somebody here.
BANFIELD: Without question she has friends. I mean, you know, in fact, one of her friends Emma Joe spoke to the press and obviously is holding out a lot of hope that this is going to turn out well. In fact, she wanted to give this message if Adea can hear her. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMA JOE, ADEA SHABANI`S FRIEND: I love her so much. I just want to give her a hug, you know. I`m sorry. We`re going through a lot. This is -- I mean, all of us love her. There is no person -- everybody loves her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So, Jim, obviously her friends had contact with her on Friday. And ultimately it was her friends who called the police and asked for a welfare check. But that wasn`t until Sunday. So they didn`t have a lot of lead time on this. She could have been missing for two days. Was it the social media that went quiet that was the most important issue here or missing the acting class or all of the above?
HOLT: Well, I can`t speak to that but I could tell you that one I am convinced of is that, this acting class, the school, this academy. This was her life by all indications from the people that I talked to. And I talked to the school administrator. He said that, you know, she was an excellent student. Didn`t miss a class. She made friends with all the people who were also enrolled at the school. And the friends that I`ve reached out too tried to said the same thing that you`re telling me is that she was very well loved and respected and being so dedicated to acting and the school.
BANFIELD: Well, stand by for a second. I want to bring in Jayden Brant. He`s a private investigator on Adea Shabani`s case hired by Adea`s family. Can you hear me OK, Jayden?
BRANT: Yes, I can. Good afternoon.
BANFIELD: I want to ask you a little bit about this class. It wasn`t just any class that she missed. It was a very significant class that she missed. In case the audience is wondering, well, look, we all missed a class here or there. We might have a doctor`s appointment, we might just slip in. What was the significance of the class that she missed causing sort of the hair that called to be, you know, obviously to jolt into action for these friends?
[18:10:01] BRANT: Exactly. This was the first class of the third semester. This is the class where the roles were given out for that session. All accounts say that she was looking to get a large significant role in that class. So this was -- this was not something she would miss.
Furthermore, friends tell us that, you know, again, you talked about her being dedicated. She didn`t miss classes. She was not that type of person. So, for her to miss this class, highly significant.
BANFIELD: So, Jayden, I just want to stay on that thread for a moment. If this was class where big roles were being given out, is there any thought by the investigators there that maybe it was someone who didn`t want the competition? Maybe that person. I mean, are they looking at the other people involved in that school, in that class in particular?
BRANT: Absolutely. I mean, there`s no indication of that at this time. School her peers there at the school had been very cooperative and there`s
no evidence of that at this time.
BANFIELD: So is there evidence of anything? I mean, I`m seeing her in pictures with Justin Bieber and Kanye. I mean, she seems to be either very well-connected with a lot of big celebrities in Hollywood or she gets to go to a lot of big parties. Paris Hilton. Honestly, these are all sort of a-listers that she seems cozied up to in a lot of her Instagram photos.
Any idea about just the notion of her status in Hollywood and if that has anything to do with her disappearance?
BRANT: I mean, she was well liked here. She had that type of personality to where, you know, she would make friends easily and connections easily. Again, you know, no indication that, you know, that type of thing was involved. She was in school at this time and very dedicated to that.
BANFIELD: Do we know anything about her credit card. I mean, for starters her door to her apartment was left unlocked. By the way, we are seeing her with an Oscar. This is not her Oscar. She`s at an Oscar`s party one year ago.
BRANT: Sure.
BANFIELD: Maybe she was supposed to even be at the Oscar`s party this year. Do you know if she was?
BRANT: I don`t know. Yes, we don`t have any information about that at this time. But I can tell you that, yes, her door was unlocked. She lives in a very crowded fabulous area of Hollywood. I think it`s unusual and certainly significant that her door was left unlocked.
BANFIELD: By the way, it`s a nice apartment if the pictures we`re seeing of the Duet. Was that the name of apartment building where they are investigating?
BRANT: That`s correct.
BANFIELD: So her apartment door is left unlock and that`s unusual. What was left inside the apartment? I mean, was there any signs of a struggle. Was there a wallet or a phone or a keys or anything like that left behind in there?
BRANT: At this time, no. I mean, it was nothing significant that we found there in the apartment. You know, it didn`t really point us in any direction, it seemed to be very typical.
BANFIELD: By the way, I just want to remind our viewers, you`re a private investigator hired by her family. Are you working with the police? Are they thankful for your help? Are you working in concert together? What`s the relationship between you and the police?
BRANT: I mean, we always try to do everything that we can to assist with their investigation. But at the same time, you know, we follow, we follow up our leads that we develop and try to get information to them to help as much as we can.
BANFIELD: Do you know anything about the last communication? The LAPD says that she was last seen at a coffee shop in the area of Hollywood, right?And that she was in communication with a friend, I think via social media. Do you have any idea who she was talking to or if that is a focus of this investigation right now?
BRANT: That`s not. She was talking to several friends as she normally would via different messaging apps. And that`s what so odd. You know, she did maintained -- she did have a large friend network. She maintained constant communication with them. She had a great relationship with her family and
maintained constant communication with them. And then all of sudden Friday afternoon, communication stopped.
BANFIELD: Well she had a boyfriend, we hear. What`s the story there?
BRANT: All indications he`s been cooperative with LAPD`s investigation as far as I know. Nothing else significant to our investigation at this time.
[18:14:57] BANFIELD: Jayden I have a second left here, but how is her family? As I understand they are from Macedonia. Not far from Greece, you know, right in there. Her mom...
(CROSSTALK)
BRANT: Correct. Her mom has flown in.
BANFIELD: Yes. Does she speak English? I mean, how are they doing and what`s their circumstances as they look for their daughter?
BRANT: I mean, she does speak English. I would just say devastated, distraught. I mean, you know, can`t imagine what she`s going through. Very active in the search. She`s doing everything she can to find her daughter. I don`t think she slept since she`s been here.
BANFIELD: I think that`s entirely understandable. You can see the $25,000 reward has now been posted as well. Jayden, keep us posted on this and let us know if there are any developments.
It just seems remarkably coincidental during Oscar season and such a big celebration. And this is just, you know, half a mile away. This young actress has vanished. And while everyone is celebrating her family is desperate and they are not celebrating one bit. So, Jayden, thank you. We`re going to keep in touch with you. Jim Holt, my thanks for you as well for your reporting, senior staff writer from The Signal.
