SMPD issues nationwide APB for woman’s car
As police continued their search Thursday for Santa Monica resident Kristine Louise Johnson, friends and family prayed for her safe return.
Johnson, 21, disappeared Saturday afternoon when she was reportedly on her way to meet a Beverly Hills photographer, according to police. Police are unsure what the purpose of the meeting was.
Johnson’s mother, Terry Wark, reported her missing to the Santa Monica Police Department after she didn’t show up for work on Monday, Feb. 17. Wark said Johnson, a data entry worker at Marina Del Rey-based CNCG Cellular, was supposed to be in her office on President’s Day.
“I thought when I filed the report I was making a mistake,” Wark said. “I was hoping she would call me and tell me everything was fine. I was hoping it was reckless abandonment of youth and I was hoping she would just turn up.”
Wark left messages on Johnson’s cell phone Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening, but her calls weren’t returned. That struck Wark as odd since she speaks with her daughter on a daily basis, she said.
“One of the most frustrating things to me is that there is nothing concrete,” she said. “It’s like she vanished on Saturday afternoon and there’s no explanation for it.”
Wark said Johnson has not used her cell phone since Saturday, according to phone records.
Johnson’s co-workers say she had told them she was going to a party on Saturday. But she never showed.
Police officers continue to interview Johnson’s friends and co-workers, searching for clues to her whereabouts. Police have put out an all points bulletin nationwide for Johnson’s white 1996 Mazda Miata with license plate number 3RSV484.
“We’re in contact with several law enforcement agencies throughout the state,” said SMPD Lt.
Johnson was last seen on Saturday afternoon at her Santa Monica apartment, which she shares with two roommates on the 2200 block of 29th Street.
Wark said she spoke to her daughter Saturday morning and she didn’t mention an appointment with a photographer. She said her daughter was focused on enrolling into a spring semester course at Santa Monica College, where she has been taking night courses with the hope of attending UCLA in the future.
Johnson was born in Northern California but soon moved with her family to Saugatuck, Mich., a small town about 140 miles northeast of Chicago nestled on the banks of Lake Michigan.
Her parents divorced while Johnson was in high school, but the family remained in Michigan. After graduating from Saugatuck High School in 1999 in a senior class of 62 students, Johnson attended Western Michigan University for one year before dropping out to move back to California to live with her grandmother in Santa Maria.
“She always wanted to go back to California, where there’s more opportunities and better weather,” Wark said.
Wark said she moved back to California shortly after her daughter in 2000, settling in Los Gatos, a small suburb about 50 miles south of San Francisco. For now, Wark is staying put, but she may travel to Santa Monica if her daughter isn’t found soon.
Johnson worked on a movie being shot in San Luis Obispo starring Sandra Bullock. Johnson fell in love with the entertainment industry and decided to move to Los Angeles to study at the Make-up Designory in Burbank.
“She was working as a make up artist living in West Hollywood, but it was a tough life and it was hard finding work,” Wark said. “About that time she decided a four-year degree was something she wanted.”
Johnson found a full-time job at CNCG Cellular and she moved to Santa Monica to take classes at SMC. CNCG, located at 13453 Beach Ave. in Marina Del Rey, is a small company with about eight employees, said James LaPointe, the company’s warehouse manager.
“Her co-workers are her family out here,” LaPointe said. “She didn’t have any family out here and as I understand it, she didn’t have many friends here either.”
LaPointe described Johnson as a “very vibrant person” who was “always smiling.” He said Johnson, who had been working at the company since November 2002, was a very dependable employee. “She would never not call in,” he said. “Even when she’s late, she calls in.”
CNCG workers distributed missing person fliers on Thursday in Johnson’s neighborhood.
Wark said she is thankful for the media attention on the search for her daughter. She urges anyone with information about her daughter to call the police department’s tip line.
“She’s just so beautiful inside and out,” said Wark, choking back tears. “When she comes into a room the whole room lights up. She’s just a wonderful spirit. I love and adore Kristi so much. I just want to hear that she’s all right.”
Anyone with information about Johnson’s disappearance is encouraged to call the SMPD’s tip line at (310) 458- 8449. Or anyone interested in helping Johnson’s co-workers post fliers can call James LaPointe at (310) 822-4321.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 21, 2003. Read the original PDF.