One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Family Asks For Help Finding 49-Year-Old Mother Of Three Who Went Missing Last Week
It's been a week since anyone has seen Marta Michel, a 49-year-old South Los Angeles woman. Her husband and three children are baffled about what might have happened to her since they saw her last Saturday night, and they're asking for the public's help finding her.Her 10-year-old son David Michel pleaded for help on TV: "I'm worried that she might be dead right now, she might be hurt right now. Come home, because we all miss you. You are the best mom ever."
Michel's family last saw her around 5 pm on Saturday when she took off for her job at Casa India on Broadway in downtown. Employees at the restaurant said they last saw her after her shift waiting at a bus stop around 10 pm later that night, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Family and friends say that nothing appeared to be wrong with Michel, and she didn't seem distraught. In fact, she seemed to be in good spirits after visiting family in El Salvador recently. She didn't own a cell phone, but her daughter said that she always called the family from a pay phone and checked in with them.
Police are circulating photos of Michel. She is latina with black hair and dark brown eyes. She is 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighs about 160 bounds. She was last seen wearing a gray-and-white horizontal striped skirt with a gray blouse. Her disappearance is considered a missing persons case, and police have not ruled out foul play.
If you know anything about the case, contact Detective Lydia Saiza of the LAPD Missing Persons Unit at (213) 996-1800 or 1-877-LAPD-24-7.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
