Death of Lauren Cho
로렌 조
Born
Lauren Cho

(1990-12-20)December 20, 1990
South Korea, Kyungpook National University Hospital
DisappearedJune 28, 2021 (aged 30)
Between Morongo Valley, California and Yucca Valley, California, U.S.
StatusFound deceased[1]
Body discovered(2021-10-09)October 9, 2021
Yucca Valley, California, U.S.
NationalityKorean - American
Alma materWestminster Choir College, New Jersey

Lauren "El" Cho (December 20, 1990 — June 28, 2021) was last seen on June 28, 2021, in the area between Morongo Valley, California, and Yucca Valley, California, United States. On October 28, 2021, investigators confirmed that the remains found on October 9 on the open desert at Yucca Valley belonged to Cho.[2][3][4][5]

Background

Cho grew up in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. She graduated from Hunterdon Central Regional High School in 2009. She studied music education at Westminster Choir College.[6] Cho went by the nickname "El."[7]

Prior to her disappearance, Cho had quit her job as a high school music teacher over the winter of 2020, and joined her friend, Cody Orell, on a cross-country road trip. She had met Orell on Memorial Day, and joined his trip with the intention of running a food truck at their final destination; Bombay Beach, California. By June 2021, Cho was working as the private chef for an Airbnb property called “The Whole”, owned by Tao Ruspoli, between Yucca Valley and Morongo Valley outside of Joshua Tree National Park.[8][9][10]

Disappearance

The housekeeper at the Airbnb where Cho worked claimed that both Cho and Orell had begun drinking early in the day, and that Cho and Orell had gotten into an argument when Orell refused to let Cho drive away.[11]

According to Orell, Cho had gotten upset and walked away from the converted bus without her phone, food, or water, when he had gone inside the bus around 3 pm. He called the local sheriff's office around 5:13 pm for additional help after searching with some friends for Cho.[10] The original search party reportedly never found any of Cho's tracks, and responding law enforcement only found the tracks of the search party. This led Orell to believe that Cho got into a vehicle with someone, as she had been planning on meeting an unknown individual later in the week.[12]

When she was last seen, she was walking away from the place where she was staying.[13] She was last seen wearing a yellow T-shirt and jean shorts near Benmar Trail and Hoopa Road, off of California State Route 62.[10]

Investigation

Police and rescue searched the area on foot, including with K9 teams. The area was also searched from the air with fixed wing aircraft.[14] The Morongo Basin Sheriff's station told reporters that the sheriff's helicopter and members of the search and rescue unit were searching for Cho since her disappearance, although they believed she was voluntarily missing, due to no evidence of foul play.[12] The Specialized Investigations division of the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department, began assisting the Morongo Basin Station in the search for Cho in September 2021.[15]

Orell and other friends attempted to bring awareness to Cho's disappearance using social media to spread her missing poster, and hung missing person flyers around Bombay Beach.[12]

On October 9, 2021, investigators found unidentified human remains in the rugged terrain of the open desert of Yucca Valley, during their search for Cho. On October 28, 2021, investigators confirmed those remains belonged to Cho.[16][17] The cause and manner of death were pending toxicology results as of the date of the announcement.[18]

Response

The lack of media interest in the case led to accusations of bias.[19][20] The death of Gabby Petito brought about renewed media interest in the disappearance of Cho and other unsolved missing persons cases.[21]

A Facebook page about her disappearance, run by her family, responded to comments made about the similarities between Cho's case and that of Gabby Petito stating, "We realize that on the surface, the public information for both cases share some similarities. We understand the frustration many of you have expressed about how and why certain cases receive national coverage. Ultimately, these two cases are NOT the same and the differences run deeper than what meets the public eye."[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "News Release - SBSD Headquarters". local.nixle.com. October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Lauren Cho case: Human remains found in Yucca Valley identified as missing NJ woman, coroner says". ABC7. October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Stella, Chan (October 28, 2021). "Remains found in California desert identified as those of missing Lauren Cho". CNN. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ Massie, Graeme (September 23, 2021). "Pleas for missing Lauren Cho to get Gabby Petito coverage after she vanishes". The Independent.
  5. ↑ Lisitza, Alexa (September 23, 2021). "Here Is Everything We Know About Lauren Cho And Daniel Robinson – Two Missing Person Cases Brought To Light By The Disappearance Of Gabby Petito". BuzzFeed.
  6. ↑ Fassett, Caroline (June 30, 2021). "N.J. woman reported missing in California". NJ.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021.
  7. ↑ Salcedo, Andrea (October 29, 2021). "Remains of Lauren Cho found in a California desert months after she went missing from her Airbnb". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021.
  8. ↑ Marks, Andrea (October 12, 2021). "Why It Could Take 'Several Weeks' to Identify Remains Found in Search for Lauren Cho". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021.
  9. ↑ Cabral, Sam (September 24, 2021). "Gabby Petito case: The missing Americans you don't know about". BBC News. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 "Everything we know about Lauren Cho, who went missing in California desert". The Independent. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  11. ↑ Palmer, Tom (October 7, 2021). "Missing in America: NJ's Lauren Cho 'walked away' from her California Airbnb". PIX11. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 Moore, Stacy (July 1, 2021). "What happened to Lauren Cho?". hidesertstar.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Search Continues For Lauren Cho Of New Jersey, Last Seen On June 28 In Remote Area Of Yucca Valley". CBS. September 22, 2021.
  14. ↑ Rode, Erin (September 21, 2021). "Specialized Investigations Division joins search for Lauren Cho in Yucca Valley". The Desert Sun.
  15. 1 2 Rode, Erin (September 21, 2021). "Specialized Investigations Division joins search for Lauren Cho in Yucca Valley". The Desert Sun. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  16. ↑ Colbert, Claire (October 11, 2021). "Investigators find unidentified human remains while searching for Lauren Cho, who's been missing since June". CNN. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  17. ↑ Fitzsimons, Tim (October 28, 2021). "Remains found in California desert identified as Lauren Cho". NBC News. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Human Remains Located on October 9, 2021, Confirmed to be 30-year-old Lauren Cho". nixle.com. October 28, 2021. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  19. ↑ Shammas, Brittany; Bellware, Kim (September 22, 2021). "Gabby Petito case gets more attention than missing people of color". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  20. ↑ Marks, Andrea (September 21, 2021). "The Internet Banded Together to Search For Gabby Petito. What About These Missing People of Color?". Rolling Stone.
  21. ↑ Stableford, Dylan (September 24, 2021). "Gabby Petito case draws renewed attention to Lauren Cho and others who have gone missing". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021.
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