The father of a 15-year-old Southern California girl who was missing for a week has been arrested and could face possible charges of child kidnapping, conspiracy and falsifying a police report.
Jeffery Chao was arrested by officers with the Monterey Park Police Department following an “extensive investigation” after his daughter, Alison Jillian Chao, suddenly disappeared after leaving her father’s home on July 16.
A missing person case was then opened against the straight-A student after she failed to show up at her aunt’s home in San Gabriel, about three miles away.
A citywide search for the missing teen was launched with volunteers canvassing local neighborhoods, handing out missing person flyers and family members making media appearances, statements and tearful pleas, including her mother, Annie Chao.
Jeffery Chao, the father of a 15-year-old Southern California girl who went missing for a week, has been arrested by officers.
Alison Chao, 15, disappeared July 16 while riding her bike three miles from her father’s home in Monterey Park to her aunt’s house in San Gabriel. She turned up a week later outside a television station.
Annie was last seen on surveillance footage in a photo of herself riding her GT mountain bike, wearing a purple T-shirt, black shorts and dark shoes. She was also carrying a backpack.
In a shocking twist, Alison turned up safe and sound on Tuesday, a week after she went missing, when she showed up outside the doors of the local ABC television station in Glendale, wanting to “tell her story.”
But questions now remain about what exactly happened during the week Alison was missing.
Although details surrounding the arrest of her father, Jeffery Chao, are vague, investigators believe he may have played a role in Alison’s disappearance.
Alison’s aunt said she believes the high school student ran away because she didn’t want to be with her mother, who was awarded custody of her during the parents’ divorce.
It is still unknown where the teenager went for a week during her disappearance.
Missing teen Alison Jillian Chao (center) was found outside a local news station begging for her story to be shared a week after she went missing.
Police said Friday the investigation was ongoing and there was “no further comment at this time.”
The teen’s parents are divorced, fueling speculation that Alison’s disappearance may have been the result of a custody dispute.
Her mother, Annie Chao, was granted “sole physical custody” of Alison, for the benefit of her mental health and well-being.
A video also emerged from the day before Alison was reported missing showing police at Jeffery Chao’s home, urging the teen to come with them.
A female voice can be heard in the background, sounding distressed and in denial.
After Alison was found safe, her mother responded to social media posts speculating about what might have happened.
Alison’s mother, Annie Chao, pictured, was granted “sole physical custody” of Alison, for the benefit of her mental health and well-being.
The family even posted flyers around Monterey Park in a desperate search for the teenager.
The teenager finally appeared a week after she disappeared.
Annie Chao said the posts were filled with “misinformed opinions, speculation and hurtful comments about me and my family.”
“There is a lot of misinformation posted online about Alison and my family by a small number of people,” Annie Chao said.
“If you want to help Alison, you will stop posting about this matter,” she continued, explaining how her daughter was doing. a “young girl,” with “understandably complicated” feelings about her parents’ divorce.
“I will always do my best to protect Alison’s interests, no matter the circumstances and no matter what stones may be thrown at me,” her mother said.
The family doesn’t know where Alison spent the week she was missing.
When Allison showed up at the television station, a woman, Rachelle, recognized her from the “Missing” poster.
Rachelle said the teen was desperately trying to talk to someone and shared a heartbreaking statement.
The teenager was last seen in a disturbing photo showing her riding her GT mountain bike wearing a purple T-shirt with black shorts and dark shoes.
“She was very clear in saying, ‘I came to ABC to tell my story. No one else will listen to me,'” Rachelle told the network. local news outlet.
“What struck me immediately was how self-assured she was, how sound-minded, very articulate and very clear about the situation.
‘She was crying. She was very sad. Especially for not being able to tell her story.
“I can only tell you that this is someone who is three years away from adulthood, who feels like no one is listening to her and who has no avenue to obtain a ruling,” Rachelle said.
“I hope her family comes together, that they can resolve this for her, that the courts don’t fail her.”
Alison is now in the custody of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
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