Crime & Safety

Family Seek Public's Help to Find Missing Valinda Teen

Myra Howard, who attends a performing arts high school in Pomona, was last seen leaving her home April 29.

Family and friends of a missing Valinda teen are seeking the public’s help to find her.

Myra Howard, 16, went missing at around 10 a.m. April 29, said Ronda Hampton, who is assisting the family with a search through her non-profit REACH for Mental Health Awareness organization. 

Hampton said Myra told her brother she was on the way to school the day she disappeared, but her family later found out there was no school that day. A search of her Facebook account and phone records revealed that Myra was reportedly meeting up in Los Angeles with a 23-year-old man she met online, Hampton said.  The man reportedly picked up near Vermont Avenue and Manchester Boulevard.  

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Myra was last spotted in the company of the 23-year-old man she met and several other males when she disappeared, Hampton said.

She left money behind at home and did not take any clothing, indicators that she did not likely run away, Hampton said.  Preliminary searches have revealed that the teen might be hanging with a group of individuals suspected of being involved in a sex trafficking ring, Hampton said. 

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Myra is described as an African-American teen who is four feet ten inches tall and weighs around 100 pounds.  She has medium-length brown hair and brown eyes.  She also has several new tattoos, including praying hands, a dream catcher, and the word “Scoobi” on her back.

“She is known to have gotten several tattoos from these men during her disappearance and she has been seen hanging out at their tattoo parlor,” Hampton said.

Myra has a medical condition that requires her to take iron pills, she said. 

“There is growing concern about her safety and well being, as it does not appear that she planned on staying away from home,” Hampton said.

Hampton, a pschologist with a private practice in Diamond Bar, started the nonprofit REACH organization following the disappearance and death of Mitrice Richardson, who had once worked as her intern. 

The national organization aims to aid families in search of mentally ill loved ones, serving as a liaison between relatives of the missing and law enforcement agencies.

Anyone with information about Myra’s whereabouts is urged to call 951-660-8031 or your local law enforcement station.

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