A
missing 15-year-old
from Monterey Park,
Alison Jillian Chao
, was
found
safe outside KABC-TV's offices in Glendale on Tuesday, local authorities confirmed.
Alison
had been reported
missing
after leaving home on her bicycle on July 16, according to Los Angeles Times.
Jose Romero, an attorney representing Alison’s father, Jeffrey Chao, stated that there was no sign of foul play.
“The 15-year-old had left home on her own accord on her bicycle July 16 and showed up at the Los Angeles-based KABC-TV site in Glendale on her own,”
Romero
said at a news conference.
The teen’s father described Alison as “a very intelligent person and she’s a godly person with a really good heart.” As of Tuesday afternoon, Alison was being interviewed by the Monterey Park Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services had been contacted. Her family had not yet met or spoken with her.
A Glendale resident reported seeing a girl matching Alison’s description slip by a security guard at the KABC offices. The resident said the girl wanted to share her side of the story with the news station.
Romero declined to comment on a
YouTube
video circulating online, where Alison is seen refusing to go to a “facility” at her parents’ request before her disappearance. “Based on current litigation in family law court, there’s layers of protection afforded to the minor,” Romero explained.
The Monterey Park Police Department confirmed that they are continuing to investigate the case. Alison had left her home at 5:32 p.m. on July 16, heading towards her aunt’s house in San Gabriel. Her aunt notified her father around 8 p.m. that Alison had not arrived.
Alison’s mother, Annie Chao, had earlier asked for privacy and requested that the public refrain from speculation. “Please remember that Alison is a child,” she said in an
statement. “I kindly ask that you do not speculate, attack or post anything that does not assist in the effort to find her.”