ALICIA SCOTT-LEE - 17 yo - (2010) San Francisco/Tennessee Beach CA

Boats, helicopters, tracking dogs and teams on horseback are searching
for a 17-year-old girl reported missing today from Golden Gate National
Recreational Area in southern Marin County.
Alicia Scott Lee was reportedly last seen at about 1 a.m. when she
became separated from friends near Tennessee Beach, said National Park
Service Ranger George Durgerian.
Her disappearance wasn't reported to the park service until about
12:30 p.m., and the circumstances surrounding what happened are still
unclear, Durgerian said.
"There's a lot of things we don't know about this one," Durgerian
said. About 50 people are involved in the search, he said.
Lee was reportedly last seen near an abandoned military installation
close to Tennessee Beach, Durgerian said.
Officials described her as an Asian girl who is 5 feet 8 inches tall,
weighs about 120 pounds and has brown eyes and shoulder-length brown
hair.
She was last seen wearing a red T-shirt, blue jeans, a black
sweatshirt and Ugg boots, officials said.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about her to call
(415) 479-2311.

Authorities said they have found the body of a 17-year-old Mill
Valley girl who went missing from a trip with friends in the Golden Gate
National Recreational Area in southern Marin County.
A late-night accident, not foul play, is suspected, officials said.


The body of Alicia Scott Lee was found at 10:45 a.m. today in a rocky
cove off Muir Beach Overlook, north of Muir Beach, said National Park
Service Ranger George Durgerian.
He said the girl was found about two miles north of where authorities
now believe she fell into the ocean.
Lee was last seen at about 1 a.m. Saturday when she became separated
from seven friends - who all attend Marin County high schools - near
Tennessee Beach, said Durgerian.
Her friends, some of whom had sleeping bags, said they were not
certain Lee was missing until 9 a.m., Durgerian said.
After looking for Lee, the friends notified a ranger three-and-a-half
hours later, he said. An all-out search began at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Dozens of searchers came from five counties, using helicopters,
boats, six horses and six tracking dogs. The body was found by a park
service ranger and lifeguard on a small watercraft, Durgerian said.
"It's a dangerous place," he said. "With currents and high tide
coming in, we were exceptionally fortunate. Now our challenge is to
safely recover Ms. Lee while protecting the lives of rescuers."
He said a helicopter would be used to attempt the recovery.
Lee's death is under investigation.

Alicia Scott Lee, the 17-year-old Tamiscal High School senior who was found
dead in the water off the Muir Beach Overlook Sunday morning, was a top
student and a talented photographer, according to her school principal John Carroll.

"She was multi-talented and good at everything," Carroll said. "She was
accepted at Cal Poly's School of Architecture."

Scott was interested in a wide variety of subjects, including fine arts
photography, Carroll said. She had not yet decided on the college or
university she would attend, he said.

Tamiscal High School, an alternative school in Larkspur, has 117
juniors and seniors who complete the bulk of their work through
independent study. It was closed today for a staff work day and grief
counselors will be on the campus Tuesday, Carroll said.

Lee had last been seen around 1 a.m. Saturday when she became separated
from a group of friends near a bunker by Tennessee Beach. Her friends
looked for her Saturday morning before they reported her missing around
12:30 p.m.

National Park Service rangers and lifeguards
found her body around 10:45 a.m. Sunday in a rocky area near the Muir
Beach Overlook. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office's helicopter
retrieved her body.

National Park Service Ranger George Durgerian said there is no indication
of foul play in her death. The Marin County coroner's office said the
death is still under investigation.

Carroll said Lee also participated in the school's Team program for
juniors, a unique educational program that includes wilderness
exploration and community service.

Lee also took classes, including advanced calculus, at Redwood High
School's advanced placement program.

Lee attended Redwood High School before attending Tamiscal High School,
Carroll said.

Carroll said Lee also enjoyed backpacking and mountaineering.

LARKSPUR —
A teen who was found dead at Muir Beach Sunday was remembered Monday as
a standout student, athlete and photographer and was described as
someone with the rare ability to switch deftly from bubbly silliness to
calm wisdom. Students at Tamiscal High School in Larkspur fought
through tears to share stories about Alicia Lee, whose body was found in
the Pacific Ocean at Muir Beach, the victim of an apparent fall from a
cliff at Tennessee Cove.Lee was reported missing at 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, about three hours after a group of friends staying overnight
in the Marin Headlands woke up and found she wasn't with them. She was
last seen by friends at about 1 a.m. Saturday near the cliffs.Lee's
parents, John and Cathie Lee of Mill Valley, said two services planned
this weekend for their 17-year-old daughter will be for family and close
friends only. They thanked search-and-rescue volunteers as well as
police, sheriff's deputies and other emergency responders who
participated in the search Saturday and Sunday."The cross-agency
support was amazing," John Lee said. "All the volunteers were mobilized
within two hours of the call — just amazing. We are very thankful."The
Lees visited Tamiscal on Monday to speak with the staff and students
and tell them how much their friendship with Alicia meant to them."I
can't say how grateful I am to the kids," Cathie Lee said. "They were
able to love her in ways that I couldn't. My heart goes out
to them."Alicia Lee grew up in San Francisco and moved to
Marin with her family about five years ago. She attended Redwood High
School in Larkspur for two years and enjoyed soccer and volleyball. It
was a move to Tamiscal, an alternative school of 114 students just yards
from Redwood High, where Lee began to thrive in her junior year.Lee
joined Team, a 24-student experimental program for juniors that
incorporates outdoor learning and work experience."It all changed
at Team for her," Cathie Lee said. "No doubt that brought her out so
much and she just blossomed." Alicia Lee started her senior year at
Redwood but returned to the tight-knit group at Tamiscal about one month
later.Principal John Carroll said, "She was a star student —
super intelligent and on top of that still humble. She was very
gregarious and friendly. Basically everybody loved her." Lee's friends
remembered her love for rock climbing and her enthusiasm during climbs
at Half Dome at Yosemite National Park and Joshua Tree National
Monument. Lee worked at the Planet Granite indoor climbing studio in San
Francisco and had just climbed at Ring Mountain in Corte Madera with
schoolmate Josh Phelps a few days ago."She was always smiling and
would laugh at the smallest things," he said. "She would notice things
like if you mispronounced a word and just get the biggest kick out of
it. She took joy in things you wouldn't even notice." Cady Watts
said Lee had a fascinating dual personality."She had this great
quality to be able to act like a 4-year-old when she was in a fun mood
and then act like my mom when she was giving me advice," she said.Julie
Gannon, Tamiscal's college and career specialist, spent part of Monday
calling all the colleges to which Lee had applied to tell them of her
death and to make sure the parents no longer received mail from them.Alicia
Lee interned one day a week at the University of California at San
Francisco doing diabetes research and had an interest in medicine. Last
year she completed an internship with an architectural firm and was
thrilled to be accepted to the prestigious architecture program at Cal
Poly-San Luis Obispo, Gannon said.She also had been accepted to
Colorado College, Lewis & Clark College and Seattle University and
was about to hear back from several University of California campuses."It's
heartbreaking," Gannon said.The Lees said they are setting up a
memorial scholarship in their daughter's name to support the Team
program; details are to be released at a later date.

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_14847611

Girl who fell to her death at Tennessee Cove was intoxicated, coroner says

Brent Ainsworth
Posted: 04/08/2010
05:44:30 PM PDT
A 17-year-old Mill Valley girl who fell to her death from a Marin
Headlands cliff last month was intoxicated, the Marin County coroner
said Thursday.Alicia Scott Lee's blood-alcohol level was .13 percent, Coroner Kenneth
Holmes said. In California, .08 percent is legally drunk.Holmes said the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. "This
was an accidental death from an unwitnessed fall from a great height
into the Pacific Ocean," he said.Lee's body was recovered in a cove near Muir Beach on March 21, a day
after friends she had been camping with reported her missing at
Tennessee Cove in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.The U.S. Park Police's criminal investigations unit has been
investigating the case even though there were no indications of foul
play. Michael Feinstein, a spokesman for the Golden Gate National
Recreation Area, said no information would be released about the park
police investigation while it is ongoing.Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian said the FBI also is
investigating the case, but it has not been referred to his office.Lee was a senior at Tamiscal High School in Larkspur and had been
accepted to several colleges. Private memorial services were held March
27 and 28.Accounts have been set up for tax-free donations in Lee's name that
would benefit the Team program at Tamiscal. Checks or money orders can
be mailed to the Tamalpais Union High School District, c/o Team program,
P.O. Box 605, Larkspur 94977.

Mill Valley student intoxicated at time of fall
By Herald staff
Published: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 1:31 PM PDT
A 17-year-old Mill Valley teen who fell to
her death at Tennessee Beach in the Golden Gate National Recreation
Area late one night last month was intoxicated at the time, the Marin
County Coroner’s Office said this week.

The coroner’s office said
Alicia Scott Lee’s blood alcohol level was 0.13, which exceeds the 0.08
limit that qualifies as intoxicated in California.

Lee, a college-bound senior at Tamiscal High School in Larkspur, had gone to
Tennessee Valley Beach with a group of friends the evening of March 19.
She was last seen at about 1 a.m. later that night. After an extensive
search operation, she was found floating in a cove near Muir Beach
Overlook the following Sunday morning.

Investigator Darryll
Harris of the coroner’s office said that the cause of Lee’s death was
blunt force trauma consistent with an accidental fall into the ocean.
While foul play hasn’t been suspected in Lee’s death, the U.S.
Park Police and FBI are investigating the case.
http://www.marinscope.com/articles/2010/04/14/mill_valley_herald/news/doc4bc623d92e5cd329787101.txt

Photos of Tennessee Beach in CA (Not related to Alicia, but an idea of what type of area they were in.)

http://pedaldamnit.blogspot.com/2006/07/tennessee-beach.html

Missing Mill Valley girl found dead in ocean

Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, March 22, 2010
Comments (206)

(03-21) 20:37 PDT MUIR BEACH -- Alicia Lee, a high school senior with a knack for photography, celebrated the final night of winter at a Marin County beach with friends.

The excursion would be her last. The 17-year-old from Mill Valley was found Sunday morning, floating in the chilly waters just north of Muir Beach nearly 24 hours after friends reported her missing, officials said....

..."It's extraordinary they found her," he said. "The phrase 'needle in a haystack' would be an understatement."

The cliffs are so rugged in the area that authorities used a helicopter to recover Lee's body....


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/22/BAB41CJAEO.DTL&ao=1

Body of missing 17-year-old Mill Valley girl found in cove near Muir Beach

Brent Ainsworth
Posted: 03/21/2010 02:28:10 PM PDT

The body of a missing 17-year-old Mill Valley girl was recovered in a cove near Muir Beach on Sunday morning, a park ranger said.
Alicia Scott Lee's body was discovered by two searchers in a boat at 10:45 a.m. in a cove below 300-foot cliffs, said National Park Service ranger George Durgerian. The discovery culminated an effort of more than 100 search-and-rescue personnel, including several members of Lee's family....

...Two swimmers from the Marin County Sheriff's Office stayed with the body almost two hours until a Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter could lower a line of more than 200 feet down to the water. The swimmers placed the body on a litter and flew it to the beach, Durgerian said.
"It was a challenge to get her out of there," Durgerian said.

Durgerian said some members of Lee's family stayed with rangers at the incident command post at the Tennessee Valley stables and some participated in the search.

Contact Brent Ainsworth via e-mail at bainsworth@marinij.com

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_14725818

I am placing this under Resolved because it was an unfortunate and horrible accident. In the hearts of her family, I know that this will never be "resolved," but I wish them peace as they grieve for their very talented and precious daughter.