Pittsburgh Police are asking the public for help finding Emily Laychak, a 42-year-old woman who may need medical attention and was last seen leaving a friend’s residence in East Liberty around 6:30 a.m. on Monday. Special Victims Unit detectives describe her as 5 feet 5 inches tall and about 130 pounds, with blondish-brown hair and green eyes. No description of her clothing at the time she disappeared has been released.
The appeal was posted early Tuesday morning by Pittsburgh Police
, the official account of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, which is handling the search through its Special Victims Unit. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 rather than use social media or the city’s non-emergency 311 line, since police accounts and PGH311 are not monitored around the clock, as Hoodline has
previously reported
.
A Fixture of Pittsburgh’s Art and Theater Scene
Laychak is a familiar name in Pittsburgh’s creative community. She founded the “Saw the Wheel” community theater initiative. The Mattress Factory describes her origami and peaceful political art. In 2010, she took part in the Firefly Tunnel Project, an international arts delegation tied to Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for the Arts in Society that brought a group of Pittsburgh artists to Cairo, Egypt, per records from Baker Artist Portfolios.
More recently, Laychak worked as a puppet designer and cast member in the early 2026 regional premiere of the absurdist play Timbuktu, USA, staged at The New Marigny Theatre and presented by Intramural Theater, according to that company’s production records. Laychak has worked in art and theater.
East Liberty Falls Under Newly Reopened Zone 5
East Liberty, where Laychak was last seen, is patrolled by Pittsburgh Police Zone 5, which officially reopened its restored historic station on North Euclid Avenue this month after operating temporarily out of a Washington Boulevard location, according to WPXI. Zone 5 officers cover East Liberty and the surrounding East End neighborhoods, though missing person investigations like Laychak’s are led citywide by Special Victims Unit detectives regardless of which zone a report originates from, per the City of Pittsburgh.
No Waiting Period Required for Missing Adult Reports
A common misconception holds that families must wait 24 hours before police will investigate a missing adult, but law enforcement agencies do not require a 24-hour waiting period. Philadelphia Police Department directives define a disabled person as someone whose physical or mental disability or senility poses an immediate danger.
Hoodline has covered other missing-person searches, including its September report on the search for missing woman Sandra Fields, 70. Anyone with information on Emily Laychak’s whereabouts is urged to call 911 immediately.
