National news has had all eyes and ears turned to the case of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old woman from Long Island, whose body was identified yesterday (September 21) after being located in Wyoming early this week. The search for Petito, and now her fiancé Brian Laundrie, has been fueled by social media users who are now turning their attention to a local missing woman. Cassidy Taylor reminds us of the search for Lauren Cho…
The search for Gabby Petito united social media users and fueled efforts to aid law enforcement in finding the 22-year-old Long Island woman’s body. And now, social media seems to have turned its attention towards Lauren Cho, who went missing on June 28 from Yucca Valley. The same day (September 21) that Petito’s body was identified, Rolling Stones published a story on missing people of color, which included Cho and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that investigators with the Specialized Investigations Division are now joining the search as well.
A Facebook group that claims to provide updates from Cho’s family posted Saturday (September 18) stating that while the two cases have some similarities, they are ultimately not the same and “the differences run deeper than what meets the public eye.”
With specialized divisions and social media detectives on the lookout, the question still remains, where is Lauren Cho?
Full statement from the “Missing Person: Lauren ‘El’ Cho” Facebook page
“We would like to take a moment to acknowledge the messages and questions that have come our way this past week regarding the Gabby Petito case in comparison to what is happening with El.
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.
We are wholly appreciative of the love that continues to be shown to El. We empathize deeply with Gabby’s family and hope that both our cases bring forth positive resolution.
Somebody knows something. About El, about Gabby…”
