Missing student turns up

By John Caldwell
Daily Forty-Niner

A Cal Sate Long Beach student whose family and friends reported her missing Tuesday turned up at her Lake Forest home Thanksgiving Day.

The family of Kristine Arabaca filed a missing person's report with the University Police, claiming she had not been seen since dropping her child off at a babysitter's house Monday.

Family members expressed concern for her safety as Arabaca had told her husband that a man at CSULB had followed her recently.

"The campus police really launched into an intensive process," said Toni Beron, a public affairs representative at CSULB. "They interviewed everybody they could find."

Arabaca had attended a study group on campus Sunday where she was reported to have indicated she would not be at school on Monday, Beron said.

0University Police found no evidence that she had been on campus after dropping off her child and could not substantiate family fears of a potential stalker.

Interviews with numerous classmates yielded no mention of Arabaca having been afraid of someone following her.

University Police turned the case over to the Orange County Sheriff's Department Wednesday where Orange County resident Arabaca was last seen.

"We started an investigation and got the media involved," said Steve Doan, an investigator with the Orange County Sheriff's Department. "We put the parents on TV Wednesday night."

The Sheriff's Department held a press conference for the media and the story was carried by several news organizations.

Arabaca reportedly saw the story on TV and contacted her family before returning home.

According to Doan, Arabaca had been gambling in Compton, after having met up with an acquaintance.

Arabaca returned to her husband and family members Thursday.

Arabaca's husband, Mark, took emergency leave from the armed services to be with his family during the incident.

"She's not physically harmed in any way," Mark said. "I don't think she really wants to talk about it.

The case has been closed and no charges were filed.

Kristine Arabaca