MONICA VALENZUELA - 14 yo - Bell (S of LA ) CA

Bell CA ---- Police in the
Los Angeles suburb of Bell are looking for a 14-year-old girl who has
been missing since leaving school last week. Police said Thursday
that Monica Valenzuela was last seen June 17 as she walked home from
Bell High School.


Capt. Anthony Miranda says the teenager
disappeared once before but returned the next day. Family
members are distributing flyers in their Maywood neighborhood and
setting up a website to help find her. The girl's mother,
Sally Valenzuela, says a man reported seeing her on Sunday at an
apartment in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Echo Park. Police
say they inquired about Monica there but found no evidence of her and
believe the man reported a false sighting.

Police Thursday were searching for a teenage girl last seen leaving Bell
High School a week ago. Monica Amber Valenzuela, 14, vanished on June 17.
"It is an active missing person case," Bell police Sgt. Art Jimenez said.
Capt. Anthony Miranda says the teenager disappeared once before but returned the next day.
Family members are distributing flyers in their Maywood neighborhood and
setting up a website to help find her.
Monica's parents said a man called several days ago and said Monica was
in an apartment building near Echo Park.
The man claimed he got their phone number from a missing person flier
about Monica -- but the flier had not been posted yet, Monica's mother said.
Monica's father Fernando Reynaga said when he called the man back, he
could hear what sounded like a struggle on the phone.
They went to the apartment building several times but found no sign of
Monica, a local television station reported.
Monica stands 5 feet 3 inches tall and has reddish brown hair and braces.
Jimenez urged anyone with information about Monica's whereabouts to call Bell police at (323) 585-1245.

Police say a 14-year-old
Southern California girl missing for a week has turned up unharmed. Monica
Valenzuela was brought to the Bell police station Friday by her mother a
day after authorities publicized her disappearance. Capt.
Anthony Miranda says the girl is "well and safe." The teen
had last been seen walking from Bell High School on June 17 but did not
arrive at her home in Maywood. Miranda said the girl had run
away because of family issues and had been staying with a friend in
Cudahy, telling the friend's mother that she was on vacation. Bell,
Maywood and Cudahy are small neighboring communities southeast of
downtown Los Angeles.