The family of the missing Lauren Chu has requested the same level of media coverage that Gabe Pettito received after her disappearance from the high desert of California.
Cho, 30, was reported missing in late June after disappearing in California’s Yucca Valley.
It was last seen around 3pm on June 28 in the area near Hoba Road and Ben Mar Road between Morongo Valley and Yucca Valley.
Authorities say her friend, Cody Orwell, called the sheriff at 5.13pm and told them she looked upset and walked away while he was inside his tour bus.
Mrs. Chu, also known as El, met Mr. Orell in New Jersey and the two traveled across the country together.
When she did not return from her walk, police said Mr. Oriel raised the alarm and called her friends to help find her.
They told law enforcement that she did not take her phone or food and water with her when she left.
Earlier this week, her Facebook friends and family wrote that they understand the comparisons made online to the disappearance of their daughter and the murder of Gabe Pettito.
«We realize that on the surface, public information for both cases shares some similarities,» they wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to finding her.
We understand the frustration many of you have expressed about how and why some cases receive national coverage.
Ultimately, these two cases are not the same and the differences run deeper than what the public sees. We totally appreciate the love he keeps showing El.”
Ms Chu left the East Coast after becoming dissatisfied with her music teaching job, and was refurbishing a school bus to use as a food truck when she disappeared.
“On Sunday, she was going out to meet someone and she didn’t say who. I wasn’t intruding on him at the time, but of course I wish now,” said Mr. Oriel, who was hitherto used to Miss Chu, to High Desert Star.
Earlier this week, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials announced that the Specialized Investigations Division will assist deputies at Morongo Basin Station in the search for Ms. Chu.
Search efforts previously included a fixed-wing aircraft cruising nearby remote mountainous terrain on July 24, and seven dogs searching the Benmar Trail home and surrounding area on July 31.
She is described as an Asian woman of 5 feet 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes.
Photos released by mayor officials show that she has a tattoo on her left shoulder below her collarbone and on her inner right arm. She was last seen wearing a yellow T-shirt and short jeans.
There have been criticisms of attention to the case of blogger and «van Leifer» Gabi Pettito compared to missing persons and murder cases involving people of color.
Police have yet to find her boyfriend, Brian Laundry, after five days of searching in Florida National Park.
«Lector profesional. Jugador galardonado. Aficionado a los zombis. Adicto a las redes sociales. Experto en tocino. Erudito en Internet»