This Young Actress Vanished In January 2017 After Leaving Her Former Boyfriend’s House: Five Days Later, Her Abandoned Car Was Discovered Unlocked With The Keys And All Of Her Belongings Still Inside
Elaine Park grew up loving fashion, pop culture, dance, and musical theatre so much that she wanted to pursue a career in the arts. Then, by the young age of 20, she began to start realizing some of her dreams.
After graduating from high school, Elaine attended Pierce College, located in Woodland Hills, California. She also worked in a restaurant and was unfortunately laid off. However, she did still find her footing in Hollywood.
The 20-year-old began working as both an actress and a musician in Los Angeles, California– landing small roles on popular television shows and movies such as “E.R.,” Desperate Housewives,” “MadTV,” “Crazy Stupid Love,” and “Role Models.”
And what reportedly drew people to Elaine most was her smile, which was said to light up any room. She also had a bubbly, kind, and energetic personality– although she preferred to keep her personal life private from the public.
By January 2017, though, everything changed for Elaine. At that time, she stopped attending her college classes and had been known to struggle with bouts of depression in the past. Then, by the end of the month, the 20-year-old vanished without a trace.
It all began on the evening of January 27 when Elaine left her mother’s house to see her former boyfriend – who lived at his parent’s house in Calabasas, California.
After arriving, Elaine and her former boyfriend decided to catch a movie at the AMC Promenade located in Woodland Hills. Then, following the film, Elaine went with her former boyfriend to his parent’s house just before 1:00 a.m. the following day.
Elaine and her former boyfriend then headed to bed, but at about 4:00 a.m. on January 28, she reportedly woke up having a panic attack. Elaine’s former boyfriend alleged that he attempted to calm Elaine down while also trying to convince her to stay at his parent’s house.
His encouragement was not successful, though, and Elaine ultimately decided to leave. She was then caught on surveillance footage at 6:05 a.m. leaving his home– which was located inside of a gated community near the 2600 block of Delphine Lane– and walking to her dark grey 2015 Honda Civic.
elaineparkismissing.com – pictured above is Elaine
Authorities reportedly could not determine whether the person actually getting into the car was Elaine or another person, though. Nonetheless, this surveillance footage was the last official sighting of Elaine on the morning she vanished.
There was secondary footage captured at 7:14 a.m., which showed Elaine’s car driving toward the neighborhood’s front gates and exiting the community. However, the time stamp on the footage did come into question during her case investigation due to daylight savings time and whether or not the surveillance camera had been updated.
If the timestamp was one hour off, then the correct time would have been 6:14 a.m. But this has not been confirmed. And if the time stamp was accurate, then there is still over one hour of time between when Elaine got into her car and actually exited the gated community that is unaccounted for.
Following that morning, there was no sign of Elaine for five days, either. That was until February 2, 2017, though, when her abandoned car was discovered along the side of the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California– just opposite the Malibu Beach RV Park.
The vehicle’s doors were found unlocked; Elaine’s keys had also been left in the ignition, which was on. Even more puzzling, investigators discovered essentially all of the 20-year-old’s belongings left inside the car– including her iPhone 7, her old iPhone 6, her laptop, driver’s license, blue duffel bag, black backpack, makeup, and $37 cash.
“It is suspicious in the way that we found her car, her cell phone, and things in the manner we did. We can’t rule foul play in or out because, plain and simple, we don’t have any evidence to do so,” Sergeant Robert Williams of the Glendale Police Department said.
Still, following the discovery of Elaine’s car, authorities launched various widespread searches. Utilizing both drones and bloodhounds, investigators searched the Santa Monica Mountains, Corral Canyon Park, and Angeles National Forest, as well as other nearby regions.
Unfortunately, though, no evidence was uncovered during any of these efforts aside from some clothing items– which have not been definitively linked to the 20-year-old’s disappearance.
So, left without answers, the Park family opted to hire a private investigator named Jayden Bryant– who asked community members for their help in the search for Elaine on the one-year anniversary of her disappearance.
Still, what exactly happened to Elaine, or where she is, has never been determined. Instead, it has now been nearly six years since she disappeared, but her family refuses to give up hope.
“Elaine, we will find you. I can hear her voice every night saying, ‘Mom, please come find me.’ It’s heartbreaking. Something is going on. We have to find her,” Elaine’s mother, Susan Park, said.
The Parks created a website and a Facebook group– both of which are meant to raise awareness about Elaine’s case, as well as share any updates in the investigation.
Two award funds have also been created for anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Elaine or for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for her disappearance.
The first fund, which was created by Elaine’s family and friends, is offering $25,000. Additionally, a second independent reward fund is offering $250,000. Both funds have no expiration and are accepting anonymous tips.
At the time of her disappearance, Elaine was about five foot five, weighed 125 pounds, and had dark brown hair and brown eyes. She is Korean American and has various tattoos– including a moth and cow skull on her left arm, as well as flowers and a dagger on her right arm. Elaine was last seen wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, jean shorts, and black doc martin boots. She was known to wear heavy makeup, had pierced ears and a nose piercing, and would be 26 years old today.
If you have any information regarding Elaine’s disappearance or whereabouts, you are urged to contact the anonymous tipline at (818) 473-0611 or send correspondence to the encrypted email address [email protected]. You can also contact the Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 or the Glendale Police Department at (818) 548-3135.
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