Lancaster Woman, 34, With Autism Found Safe After Vanishing in High Desert Heat

A 34-year-old Lancaster woman with autism and depression who vanished Thursday evening near 25th Street West has been found safe, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced early Friday. Kiersten Rebecca Jensen was last seen around 6:12 p.m. Thursday traveling southbound on 25th Street West in Lancaster, and her case had been classified as an at-risk missing person search before deputies confirmed she had been located.

According to a bulletin from LA County Sheriffs, Jensen is described as a white female standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, with black hair, blue eyes and a tattoo on her left shoulder. She was last seen wearing a denim skirt, black tank top, pink Crocs, a turquoise necklace and earrings. The Sheriff's Department's Missing Persons Unit had asked the public for help locating her before announcing she had been found.

The department, led by Sheriff Robert G. Luna, thanked the public, media, its Aero Bureau and deputy personnel for their work on the search. A Nixle notification confirming the update was published Friday at 12:09 a.m. PDT, following the initial missing-person alert issued the night before.

Why the Case Moved So Fast

Jensen's disappearance was handled under California's legal framework for vulnerable missing adults. Under Penal Code Section 14215, a missing person with a cognitive impairment, developmental disability, or severe medical or mental condition is legally defined as at-risk, a classification that triggers expedited police response protocols across California law enforcement agencies, according to the Long Beach Police Department Policy Manual. Because Jensen suffers from autism and depression, that designation meant deputies could not impose any waiting period before acting.

Penal Code Section 14211 mandates that law enforcement agencies accept missing person reports without delay and immediately issue a Be On the Lookout broadcast for at-risk cases, a rule that explains why deputies moved to publicize Jensen's disappearance rather than waiting, as Hoodline has reported. Separately, California Government Code Section 8594.11 allows local agencies to request Endangered Missing Advisories through the California Highway Patrol for people with cognitive or developmental disabilities when Amber Alert criteria are not met, giving investigators another tool for broadcasting details on highway electronic signs when needed.

Within the Sheriff's Department, missing adult investigations are directed by the Homicide Bureau's Missing Persons Detail, while initial field response falls to uniformed station deputies. The department's Manual of Policy and Procedures also requires deputies to enter missing person reports into the National Crime Information Center system within one hour of taking the initial report, ensuring law enforcement nationwide is notified if a missing person crosses jurisdictional lines.

High Desert Heat Raised the Stakes

Lancaster sits in the high desert Antelope Valley of northern Los Angeles County, where average August high temperatures reach 98 degrees under dry conditions, according to Time and Date. Those conditions heightened the physical danger for a person missing outdoors overnight, particularly given national research on wandering behavior among people with autism.

A nationwide study published in Pediatrics found that nearly 49 percent of children and adults with autism spectrum disorder engage in wandering or elopement behavior from safe environments, per the CDC. Separate research from the Interactive Autism Network, published by the National Autism Association, found that among autistic individuals who go missing during a wandering episode, traffic injuries represent the greatest danger, affecting 65 percent of missing cases. Those figures help explain why law enforcement agencies treat wandering episodes involving autistic adults with such urgency.

Public Tips and Aerial Support Aided the Search

To solicit leads, the Sheriff's Department relies on community mass notification tools including Nixle text alerts sent to local zip codes and the P3 Tips mobile app, which allow residents to receive immediate descriptions of missing people and submit anonymous tips. Anyone can also reach Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) to report information anonymously. Those seeking to receive LASD Nixle alerts directly can text their zip code to 888777.

Jensen's case adds to a string of recent at-risk missing adult alerts issued by LASD's Missing Persons Detail across Los Angeles County in late August, including a 37-year-old Paramount woman with a seizure disorder and a 48-year-old Newhall woman, both requiring daily medical care. A similar case in the same week involved a Hermosa Beach man, 20, who was found safe after five days missing without his medication, following public search efforts.

The Sheriff's Department did not release further details about where or how Jensen was located, consistent with typical practice of withholding specific location and medical information once an at-risk case is resolved in order to protect the individual's privacy.