Rafu Staff Report
The family of Carol Ota and the Los Angeles Police Department Missing Person’s Unit are asking for the public’s help to find her.
On Nov. 7, around 7 a.m., Ota was last seen in the 12000 block of Juniette Street in Los Angeles. She has not been heard from since.
Ota is suffering from bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder and is in need of her medication. Her family is concerned that she has not been located.
She left her cell phone and medication at home, where she lives with her father, and may be driving her car, a white 2008 Mazda3. The license plate number is 6BPV839.
Ota is described as a 49-year-old Japanese female with grey hair and brown eyes. She stands 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds.
Ota’s sister and only sibling, Irene Ota, has been passing out flyers in the area. She told The Rafu Shimpo on Friday, “She’s been spending small amounts of money on her credit card here and there, all around Culver City … places like McDonald’s …Starbucks, IHOP … She was at Whiskey Reds in Marina Del Rey. A waitress or somebody called police and said they saw her there on Sunday.”
A detective told Irene Ota on Friday that a McDonald’s employee reported seeing her sister a couple of days ago.
“She might be living in her car … I don’t think she knows where to go,” Ota said. “…It looks like she filled up her car twice between Nov. 6 and 11 … She might be confused and driving around.”
Although her sister drives as far as Torrance to drop off her daughter at school, “it’s unlikely that she’s driving to Las Vegas or Northern California,” said Ota, adding, “We keep thinking that we’re going to run into her,” but that Culver City is too big an area to search.
If someone spots her sister, Ota recommends calling 911 and reporting her as “critical missing.”
If have any information regarding the whereabouts of Carol Ota, contact Missing Person’s Unit Detective A. Mercado at (213) 996-1800. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).
Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to http://LAPDOnline.org, click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.