Missing Calif. Woman, Erika Lopez, Stopped Taking Meds, Family Says/ Erika has been found alive

A 24-year-old woman who stopped taking her schizophrenia medication has been missing for more than a week in California, her family told MyFoxBoston.
Erika Lopez, who is 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds, was last seen at Newport Beach and had recently broken up with her boyfriend and, according to her family, may be confused and alone.
"She quit her job once she reached that manic state," Tina Cambria, the woman's mother told the station. "They were supposed to go to her house and call me, and she was already evicted from her apartment because she had quit her job."
Lopez had moved from Boston to California two years ago to be with her boyfriend, the report says. But she was most recently living alone in her apartment but made a lot of friends.
“We are worried that she’s going to come across the wrong person and they might take advantage of her,” her concerned aunt, Angel Lopez, told the station. The family plans on heading out to Newport, Calif., to help assist in the woman’s search.
"If I go out there, I'll do things nobody else would do to get her back," Anthongy DeSousa, the woman's brother told the station.

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Erika Lopez Missing in California: Family Says She Stopped Taking Medicine

By Pete Kotz in missing persons, unsolved
Thursday, September 1, 2011, at 12:31 pm
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​Two years ago, 24-year-old Erika Lopez left her home in Revere, Massachusetts to follow a boyfriend west. She ended up in tony Newport Beach, California. The relationship didn't last, but Erika stayed on. Her family says she lived in an apartment by herself...

Erika's family says she stopped taking her schizophrenia medicine before she disappeared

​They also say she was doing well and had many friends. The problem is that she suffers from schizophrenia. As long as she's taking her medicine, she's fine. When she doesn't, things turn bad.

Her family says she recently stopped taking her medicine, which is not uncommon for schizophrenics. They come to believe they'll be fine without it, but its absence only produces a confused, manic state.

And that has Erika's relatives worried, since she hasn't been seen since August 24. (See a Facebook page devoted to finding her.)

At the moment, there's no suggestion of foul play. The problem is that if Erika isn't in her right mind, foul play could find her very quickly. She's a small woman, weighing only 95 pounds at 4-feet-11. She was last seen wearing a pink sweatshirt and white sweatpants.

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Brother of Missing Newport Beach Woman Asks for Search Volunteers

Erika Lopez suffers from bipolar disorder and needs medical attention. She has been seen twice near the pier in Huntington Beach.

By Nisha Gutierrez-Jaime Email the author September 8, 2011

Erika Lopez has been missing for more than two weeks and has since been spotted in Huntington Beach, but those searching for her have still come up empty-handed.

Lopez, 24, of Newport Beach, was last seen Aug. 23 in the area of Sherrington Place and Irvine Avenue. Her brother, Anthony Desousa, traveled from Boston to Newport Beach last week to search for her. The searches have been conducted every day, starting as early as 5 a.m. and continuing throughout the night. Lopez's family members and friends, as well as residents, have been handing out fliers, talking to local businesses and looking among the homeless community for her.

"There have been some sightings of Erika. The last one was Saturday in Huntington Beach near the pier," said Desousa, 21. "A woman saw her and told us we missed her by an hour."

Desousa says his sister suffers from bipolar disorder and had stopped taking her medication in the days before her disappearance.

"She was off her medications, and little by little she started to deteriorate. She lost her job, her car, cell phone, and she didn't renew her lease, so she was basically forced out of her apartment, and that was the last time she was seen," he said.

Newport Beach police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe said there are no new updates regarding Lopez and said the investigation into her whereabouts is ongoing.

Lopez's family said she moved to Newport Beach about 2½ years ago to be with her boyfriend, whom she has since broken up with. She lived alone in an apartment.

Lopez is Hispanic, 5 feet tall and weighs about 115 pounds. She has shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, a thin build and was last seen wearing a pink sweatshirt and white sweatpants.

"We need more people to help be our eyes and ears. She is a tiny woman out there on the streets on her own," Desousa said. "I'll be here in Newport Beach until I find her."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Newport Beach Police Detective Scott Smith at 949-644-3762. If you are interested in helping Lopez's family search for her, call Desousa at 857-294-4308.

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Erika Lopez is Missing and Off Her Meds: Have You Seen Her?
By Matt Coker Thu., Sep. 8 2011 at 4:46 PM
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How do you say this without coming off creepy, especially since the subject is a missing person of the opposite sex who is young enough to be, well, your much, much, much younger niece?

OK, here is goes: Erika Lopez, who has been missing since Aug. 23, is a very attractive 24-year-old woman, at least she is based on the photos her family is passing around in an attempt to find her. And, as everyone knows, pictures don't lie.

Whew! I said it. Now I can move on to the more important fact than she has apparently been spotted twice in Huntington Beach, in the pier area. Because of all the bad things can happen in the HB Pier area, and Lopez's previously noted attractiveness, let alone that she's apparently off her medication for bipolar disorder . . . well, it's not exactly comforting.

​Corona del Mar Patch has the scoop on her Boston-based brother traveling to OC to find his "tiny" older sister. Anthony Desousa and other family members get up every morning at 5 to begin looking, handing out fliers, talking to local businesses and reaching out to advocates for the homeless.

She moved to Newport Beach 2 1/2 years ago, but in recent weeks lost her job, car, cell phone and boyfriend and didn't renew the lease on her apartment. Anyone with information is asked to contact Newport Beach Police Detective Scott Smith at 949.644.3762. And, as Patch notes, if you want to help Lopez's family search for her, call Desousa at 857.294.4308.

​ORIGINAL POST, SEPT. 2, 8:46 A.M.: A family from Boston and Newport Beach Police are reaching out to the public for help in finding a 24-year-old woman who has been missing for a week.

Locating Erika Lopez is more critical because it is believed she has stopped taking her schizophrenia medication.

She is described as Hispanic, 4 feet 11, 95 pounds with brown eyes, a thin build and shoulder length light brown hair.

She was last seen wearing a pink sweatshirt and white sweatpants.

Lopez moved to California with a boyfriend two years ago, but they have since broken up. She'd been living alone in an apartment ever since and was last seen Aug. 24.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact Newport Beach Police at 949.254.4388 or 954.242.4236.

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Authorities on Monday located a Newport Beach woman who went missing a month ago after she stopped taking medication for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, police said.

A passerby about 10:30 a.m. saw Erika Lopez, 24, near Michelson Drive and Harvard Avenue in Irvine, said Kathy Lowe, a spokeswoman with the Newport Beach Police Department.

Police located Lopez, who was determined to be in good physical health, and reunited her with her family, Lowe said.

According to her family, Lopez moved to Newport Beach from Boston two years ago to be with a boyfriend who she subsequently broke up with.

Lopez's family said her behavior became erratic in the weeks before her Aug. 22 disappearance, when she reportedly stopped taking her medication, lost her job, began giving away her possessions and became obsessed with the "Black Swan" and the Bible.

Police did not immediately comment on where Lopez had been during her disappearance.

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Thanks for posting this BJ, I had wondered what happened to her.