MARINA DEL REY (CNS) - Los Angeles police were searching a roughly 600- acre area of the Ballona Wetlands and Ballona Creek near Marina del Rey today following the discovery of personal items belonging to a woman who disappeared from the Venice/Mar Vista area in December.
Kolby Story, 32, was last seen Dec. 7, 2020, in the 12300 block of Pacific Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
"She has not been seen since and her family is extremely concerned for her safety," police said in a statement.
According to Story's family, Kolby was at Venice Beach the evening of Dec. 6 and called a friend asking for help finding her car keys, which she had lost on the beach. They found the car keys and Story got in her car about 2 a.m. Dec. 7 to drive home to Mar Vista. She never made it home.
Her car was later discovered in a Marina del Rey impound lot. The car, with a flat tire, had been towed from a parking lot near a Ralphs grocery store in Marina del Rey.
On Friday, personnel from the LAPD and the California Office of Emergency Service, Fire and Rescue Division, including canine teams, were conducting a search of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve and Ballona Creek for Kolby, according to the LAPD. Members of Story's family were also taking part in the search.
LAPD Officer Jader Chaves told reporters at the scene that some of Story's personal property had been found in the area and turned over to police, prompting the search. CBS2 reported that the items included a checkbook and driver's license.
Kolby was described as a white, 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighing about 115 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Her family in December offered a $100,000 reward for her safe return.
Anyone with information regarding the missing woman was urged to call the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division at 213-486-6890, or 877-LAPD-247.