An Australian woman who has been missing for several days in Los Angeles after going on a date this past weekend was reportedly found in police custody.
Loved ones of 37-year-old Laura McCulloch, an aspiring actress and singer, had said she was last seen Friday at a Japanese restaurant in LA, where she had been planning to meet up with someone she met on a dating app, News9 reports.
Following the date, McCulloch reportedly missed appointments and plans, including work and a yoga class. Her dating profile is believed to have been also deleted.
But on Tuesday, a GoFundMe page that said it was raising money to hire a private detective to search for McCulloch said she had been located.
“According to multiple sources in the US, Laura has been successfully located! At this current stage we are unable to confirm what state she is in, and if any further financial support is needed, but I will do my best to provide an update as soon as it is available,” the page reads. “In the mean time, I can confirm that it was only through the efforts of her amazing friends and family that she was successfully located and I’m sure they would want to pass on their heartfelt appreciation for your contributions and incredible support so far.”
The Daily Mail reports that McCulloch has spent the last four days in jail after throwing a drink at another customer and their two-year-old child and then resisting arrest, including biting a police officer.
In a statement to The Daily Mail, Santa Monica Police Department Officers responded to reports of a battery. McCulloch “showed obvious signs of intoxication” and “charged” at the responding officers. “During efforts to detain her, she became physically combative, kicked at officers and bit one officer on the shoulder.”
Prior to McCulloch being found, family members and friends had complained that the Los Angeles Police Department was not considering her disappearance a missing persons case.
“We have had nothing but pushback and dismissal from the police,” sister Clare McCulloch wrote in a recent Facebook post.
“Unfortunately, efforts to involve authorities including local law enforcement and the Australian Embassy have also been of no use, and so we turn to our community for support,” the GoFundMe page reads.
Friends of McCulloch posted on social media that they believe she had planned to meet with someone she had been talking with on Bumble or Tinder.
The family also said that the restaurant where the date was scheduled declined to release security footage without an order from the authorities.
“If you are in L.A or you know anyone in L.A please share this far and wide across all of your networks!” Claire McCulloch wrote on Facebook. “Please, please, please help us find my sister!”
“Keep praying those great big f***ing prayers for the safe return of my sister.”
Laura McCulloch moved to Los Angeles in 2021. She has a screen credit this year for a short film entitled “Covid Support Group.”
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Featured Image: Laura McCulloch/Facebook
