Local News in Brief : Girl Just Extending Visit, Police Say
A 16-year-old Taiwanese girl who disappeared in Pasadena while on an organized tour of Southern California apparently schemed to stay in the United States while the rest of her group returned home, Pasadena police said.
Mei-lin Chen, missing since Monday after her YMCA group arrived at the Pasadena Holiday Inn, told her mother and other family members she planned to stretch her visit but would eventually return to her homeland, Sgt. Monte Yancey said.
Chen’s disappearance prompted a bulletin to all law-enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County.
But police later made contact with Chen’s mother in Taiwan and were notified that the girl intended all along to leave the tour group and continue her trip.
Chen may have friends in the area, Yancey said.
The tour group left the Los Angeles area Wednesday and headed for a brief stay in Hawaii before returning to Taiwan.
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