ANAHEIM : ‘Missing’ Woman Contacts Police
A 20-year-old woman reported missing more than two weeks ago recently notified police that she is safe and living with a family in Los Angeles County, authorities said Monday.
Tufa Petelo arrived at the Anaheim Police Station on Friday and told officers that she left home Sept. 26 after receiving a severe beating from the woman who reported her disappearance, Police Lt. Marc Hedgpeth said.
Petelo informed police of her whereabouts when she heard that they were conducting an extensive missing-person search but declined to press charges in the alleged beating, Hedgpeth said.
“We have confirmed that she was beaten severely on Sept. 25 or 26 by the same person who reported her missing,” Hedgpeth said. “This caused (Petelo) to run away. In her mind, she left for her own safety.”
Futatia Tausili, 48, the Anaheim woman who reported Petelo missing, originally told police that she is Petelo’s aunt. Police have since confirmed that the two women are not related. Tausili could not be reached for comment.
A police investigation revealed that Tausili was named two years ago in a felony assault case involving Petelo in a neighboring city, Hedgpeth said. He would not name the city or provide further details on that incident.
Petelo, who police said is mentally disabled, was apparently sent by her parents in Samoa to live with Tausili.
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