Breaking News: Missing Fullerton College student has been found safe, police say

The report of a missing student comes days after a Campus Safety officer was attacked on campus.

Pedro Saravia, Sara Leon, and Jake Rhodes

October 20, 2023

A Fullerton College biochemistry major has been found after she was declared missing around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Fullerton Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Ryan O’Neil told The Hornet Thursday, Oct. 19 that this student has been found with the help of another agency in a neighboring county. O’Neil declined to share further information for privacy reasons, but stated no foul play was involved.

According to an e-mail from O’Neil as well as a comment from the Fullerton Police Department account on Facebook, Fullerton PD had closed their missing persons case, and she chose not to go home. A relative then reported her missing again a couple of days later with another police agency. She is an adult who left on her own accord and is not considered to be at risk according to Fullerton PD.

This screenshot from a Facebook post about this student, comes from the Fullerton Police Department’s Facebook account after 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (Pedro Saravia)

The Fullerton College Campus Safety office as well as FC President Cynthia Olivo confirmed the safety of this student to The Hornet on Thursday, Oct. 19

Posters of this missing student were placed in the parking structure that sits across from the 700 building and Fullerton Union High School’s baseball field on Thursday, Oct. 19. Classmates and one of the student’s professors voiced their concern to The Hornet when the student didn’t come to class.

Concerns about safety on campus have been on the rise since a campus safety officer was hospitalized after being attacked by three teenagers in the quad early Friday morning, Oct. 13. There have also reportedly been four major crimes in a 15-day window at nearby Mt. San Antonio Community College in Walnut.

The Fullerton College community was rattled earlier this semester when 19-year-old Fullerton College fashion student Andrea Vazquez disappeared from a park in Whittier on Aug. 20 and was found dead the following morning in Moreno Valley. A suspect was charged on Aug. 23 in connection with Vazquez’s murder. The pre-trial hearing for this case begins on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles.

If you or anyone you know has any issues or concerns of safety on campus, call the emergency line for Campus Safety at (714) 992-7777 or contact The Hornet via DM on Instagram or X @FCHornet or by calling our newsroom at (714) 992-7570.

About the Contributors

Pedro Saravia, News Editor

Pedro Saravia is the News Desk Editor for The Hornet Newspaper. He previously wrote for Inside Fullerton magazine. Pedro is a five-time award winning journalist. He received Meritorious recognition from JACC and second place for Sports Investigative Story from CMA for his work investigating Title IX issues at Fullerton College. Pedro has also won second place in Profile, second place in Photo Illustration and an honorable mention in Audio Podcast from JACC. Pedro enjoys going to the gym, playing and watching soccer, and hanging with his brother. He aspires to be a politics and sports reporter.

Sara Leon, Managing Editor

Sara Leon is the Managing Editor for The Hornet and has been on the newspaper for four semesters. She is a four-time award winning journalist. Sara has won second place in ACP Best of Show- Broadcast Feature Story and fourth place in Critical Review from JACC for her review and corresponding video of the indie film "Nowhere." She also has earned honorable mention awards from JACC for Profile Feature Story covering a 12-year old student at Fullerton College and Audio Podcast as the producer of Around the Hornet. While Managing Editor in Spring 2023, The Hornet finished seventh place in ACP Best of Show for Website, 2-year campus and received recognition for General Excellence: Online News Site from JACC. From 2023-2024, Sara was also the JACC Student Representative for all community college journalism students in Southern California that are memebers of JACC. Sara enjoys exploring, watching scary movies, and learning about new things. Her end goal in the journalism field is to become a news anchor for ABC Eyewitness News.

Jake Rhodes, Senior Editor

Jake Rhodes is the senior editor for The Hornet Newspaper. He has been on The Hornet Newspaper for five semesters. He is an eight-time award winning journalist. He has received second place in Sports Game Story as well as Meritorious recognition in Enterprise News Story/Series for an investigation into Title IX concerns at Fullerton College from JACC. Jake is also a national CMA Pinnacle award winner, receiving first place in Sports Multimedia Story, second place in Sports Investigative Story, and Honorable Mention for Sports Game Story. In addition from CMA, he received an Honorable Mention for Best Web Sports Section while serving as Sports Editor in spring 2023. He has also received an honorable mention as producer of Around the Hornet for Audio Podcast and a third place finish as a contributor for Audio Podcast from JACC. While Jake has served as EIC, The Hornet secured its first ACP Online Pacemaker award, which has been referred to as the "Pulitzer of college media." The Hornet has also been recognized for "General Excellence: Online News Site" by JACC in both semesters Jake has served as EIC. He was also elected to be the new JACC SoCal Student Representative for all JACC members in Southern California for 2024-2025. Outside of The Hornet, Jake is a head coach with the Varsity Boys' basketball team at Orange High School and is also a bartender at Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ. His end goal in Journalism is to be a beat writer for an MLB or NBA team, or a sportscaster. Jake enjoys spending time with his wife Alexis, daughters Samantha, Madison, and dog Cocoa.