A frantic international search that gripped two countries has come to a sudden end.
A 21-year-old British tourist who mysteriously vanished days into a solo California trip after meeting a man at the airport has been found alive, authorities said.
Katherine Gamboa-Kerwood was located Tuesday and is safe, according to the San Francisco Police Department, bringing relief to her family after nearly a week of silence sparked growing fears.
Police said she was found in “good health” and that foul play is not suspected, but offered no clues about where she had been or what led to her disappearance.
The young traveler had arrived at San Francisco International Airport on March 31, where security footage allegedly showed her meeting a man carrying flowers. Her family says they only later learned that she had met this man previously in the UK, who has been identified only as ‘David’.
Her itinerary included stops in Sacramento, Calaveras Big Trees State Park, San Francisco and Santa Cruz, according to her family.
But concern quickly mounted when Kerwood told relatives she was staying at a Sacramento hostel, but they say she never checked in. The last time they heard from her was a text message on April 3.
Friends described the silence as deeply out of character, fueling fears that something had gone wrong.
Kerwood was due to return to London on Wednesday, April 8, but never made her scheduled flight, prompting authorities in both the US and UK to get involved.Her sudden reappearance has answered the question of her safety, but left many others unresolved, including where she had been during the days she was missing and who she may have been with.
