Cops: Missing Calif. homeless outreach volunteer found safe
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- A California mother who had been missing for nearly a week has been found safe, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Kristen Ghilardi, 29, of Santa Clarita, vanished last Wednesday after friends said she went to drive a homeless man named "Patrick" - whom she met through a church outreach program - to his parole officer in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles.
She reportedly said she would be back in time to pick her 10-year-old son up from school, but never showed up. Family members said that wasn't like her, and tearfully pleaded for her return on news broadcasts.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department found her Tuesday based on several public sightings of her at various local businesses in the Ventura and Northridge areas, about 35 miles east of Simi Valley, reports the station.
According to deputies, the woman wasn't in distress and seemed to be in good health. They determined the single mother left the Santa Clarita Valley voluntarily, but don't know why she didn't notify her family and friends about her well-being, reports the station.