Andrea Vasquez missing: California teen kidnapped following shooting at Whittier after sitting in car with boyfriend. Family plead for her safe return. Blood at scene believed to belong to abducted woman as sister Edlyn Vasquez says phone last pinged at nearby Moreno Valley area.
Random attack? California police are seeking the whereabouts of a 19 year old teen who was with her boyfriend Sunday night when she was shot and yanked from his car in Whittier.
Andrea Vasquez and her boyfriend were in the parking stalls area of Penn Park in Whittier about 20 miles southeast of Los Angeles shortly after midnight when the couple were approached by a gunman.
‘An armed suspect approached their vehicle and fired a weapon in their direction,’ according to the Whittier Police Department.
How did couple come to be targeted?
The boyfriend who evaded gunfire told of getting out of the car in search of help only to discover blood near his vehicle upon his return and Vasquez gone according to cops.
Andrea’s family told KCAL that they’re desperate for her safe return, with family and friends holding a vigil overnight near the scene where she was last seen.
Her sister, Edlyn Vasquez, with whom she lives in Los Angeles, put out a plea on Facebook for the public’s help.
‘My sister was shot and kidnapped at Penn Park,’ she wrote. ‘Her last location shows Moreno Valley. We don’t know her condition. Please I am begging, if anyone has information, or the heart to share this, please please contact me and repost.’
Her relative, Emily Martinez, of Las Vegas, told Fox News Digital that Vasquez’s phone last pinged in the Moreno Valley area, which is about 50 miles east of Whittier Park.
‘We’re scared for her, but I’m hopeful, very hopeful that we’ll find her,’ Martinez said. ‘We just want to know she’s OK.’
Family believes 19 year old teen girl was victim of random attack
She described Vasquez as the ‘funniest person ever’ who was adored by everyone.
‘We went to Cancun on a trip,’ Martinez recalled. ‘It was storming, and she would be that girl who would run into the pool in full makeup and a dress. She was the one who was willing to make you laugh even if it meant embarrassing herself.’
‘She’s just a beautiful person overall,’ Martinez added. She said the family has no idea who could have done this to her.
The family say that they believe the boyfriend is telling the truth and that they were both victims of a random attack, FOX11 reported.
Moses Castillo, a retired LAPD detective supervisor is helping in the search and is ‘very concerned’ for Andrea.
Moses said: ‘We believe that Andrea was hit, that’s according to her boyfriend that saw blooding coming out somewhere from her body.
‘We do know that this case led us all the way to Moreno Valley. She can be anywhere from Riverside County to L.A. County. We’re very concerned.’
Vasquez, who is 5-foot-3 and 103 pounds, was last seen wearing a black long-sleeve crop top, khaki pants and black low-top Converse shoes.
She has her sister’s name, Edlyn, tattooed on the back of her neck, an Aries constellation on the top of her right hand and a belly button piercing.
No suspect description is currently available for the reported gunman, and police ask anyone with information to call investigators at (562) 567-9255.
