Officials Won’t Say Why; Oregon Girl Crowned : California ‘Miss Teen’ Disqualified by Pageant
Officials of the Miss Teen USA pageant today refused to say why they disqualified the California contestant, 16-year-old Alison Moreno of El Toro, who was allowed to participate in the CBS-televised pageant.
Mindy Duncan, 16, of Hillsboro, Ore., was crowned Miss Teen USA in the pageant Monday night.
Moreno broke a pageant rule at some point in the contestant’s three-week stay in San Bernardino and officials decided Monday to disqualify her, contest spokeswoman Stacy Sacco said.
“She did not follow pageant regulations,” the spokeswoman said, refusing to elaborate.
The winner said she did not know until the last minute that one of her opponents had been disqualified.
Takes Part in Broadcast
Roger Neal, a spokesman for the pageant hosted by Dick Clark and Tracy Scoggins, issued a terse statement Monday night saying that Moreno broke a pageant rule. She was allowed to participate in the broadcast but was dropped from eligibility.
Later, a San Bernardino Sun reporter who persisted in attempting to determine why Moreno was declared ineligible was escorted from the pageant site by security guards and told not to return.
Pageant officials stated the matter of eligibility rested between the pageant and Moreno, and declined to elaborate further, citing her age.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
