This is a roundup of all information I have uncovered about Asha.
Female from Alice Springs, Australia. She was born on 19 February 1990. She is five feet 10 inches tall,145 pounds, with brown eyes and curly golden brown hair. (Poster's observation: Based on her photos, a change of hair styles really alters her looks.) She is described as African-American, with an ethnicity of other. (Poster's observation: Has anyone considered that she may be Aborigine?)
She has a red triangle tattooed on the outside of her right wrist. Another distinctive mark is dark pigmentation under her left breast. She is said not to shave facial or body hair. She was last seen in skinny black jeans and a dark gray hoodie, but without shoes.
She had silver and dark color rings on her right middle finger,and three small silver-colored bands on her right ring finger. A photo also shows an insignia ring and a couple of silver bands on her left hand.
She had an Australian education, attending Ross Park Primary School and St Philip's College in AliceSprings. She speaks with a heavily Australian accent.
Before vanishing, Asha had been living on Middle Ridge in Albion CA for the last three years, with her American boyfriend. While being visited by a female family friend from Australia, she began to suffer from sleeplessness and mental disorientation. It is suspected that contact with her visiting friend reawakened some childhood trauma. Asha is reportedly bipolar.
After four sleepless nights, her friend and boyfriend took her northward on Route 1 to Mendocino Coast District Hospital in Fort Bragg CA for treatment. Once there, Asha refused to cooperate with a mental health evaluation, refusing to have her vital signs taken, or blood drawn for workup. She was unruly enough for the Fort Bragg police to be called. Under CA Code 5150, she could not be held for observation and evaluation unless she was about to harm herself or someone else. She was released.
(Poster's note: Mendocino Coast Hospital has been struggling with bankruptcy, management, and staffing issues for years. Mental health services in this county have been privatized; the mental health company is doing such a poor job, their contract is being taken away from them.)
By now, it was the morning of 21 September 2015. Asha, her friend, and her boyfriend traveled south on Route 1. They passed Albion and continued south to Flumeville, a neighborhood two miles north of Point Arena, CA. There, a two lane road strikes off across coastal pasture to the Point Arena Lighthouse, a tourist attraction. At the intersection, there is a tourist-themed eatery called the Rollerville Cafe. That was where the trio stopped for breakfast.
At about 9:30 AM, Asha went to the lady's restroom; it was outside, behind the building. A cafe worker said Asha seemed upset. Asha's female friend followed her, but did not find her. Asha left the cafe without identification, money, or credit cards; she also may have left her cell phone in the cafe.
There is some confusion about the cellphone. Most accounts say the phone was left in the Rollerville Cafe. Asha's boyfriend claims he had her phone at home in Albion. Asha's mother says the final two calls on Asha's phone were deleted. People at the Point Arena Lighthouse Point Resort said they saw her in the lighthouse parking lot, agitated and talking on a cell phone shortly after the time the boyfriend says she left the cafe. The location of Asha's jacket,which was found along Lighthouse Road on the way to the resort, lends credence to her being there.
Apparently, Asha's friend and boyfriend looked for her throughout the 21st. The girlfriend returned to the cafe at about 2 PM for coffee, but did not mention Asha was missing. At 5:30 PM, Asha's boyfriend showed up at Rollerville and told the cafe staff that Asha had disappeared. He would return for the next three days, questioning patrons about Asha in the cafe parking lot.
There have been two incidents reported involving Asha since she left the cafe. She supposedly returned north up Route 1 to Albion, to retrieve her German Shepherd. She was also purportedly seen south of the cafe, in Gualala, where a surfer reportedly saw her. There have been no further reports.
Asha's mother has made two trips to the Mendocino coast to search for Asha. She hopes that Asha is amnesiac and being sheltered by reclusive illegal marijuana growers. Asha's friends in Alice Springs have held a fundraiser to finance the search; an account has also been set up for donations. The aim is to hire a private detective to look for Asha.
As someone familiar with the milieu, I find myself with questions.
How did she move across open pastureland between cafe and lighthouse without being seen?
Have both staff and visitors to the Lighthouse Resort and its bed-and-breakfast rooms been questioned? The visitors could be traced through the lighthouse visitors' log and the B&B registration.
Likewise for the other resort, adjacent to the Rollerville Cafe.
Who has Asha's cell phone now? Is the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office investigating her calls? (Note: I have her cell number in my files.)
If you have any information concerning this disappearance, please call Lieutenant Greg Van Patten at707-234-2100. He may also be contacted through Investigative Services email,
barneys@co.mendocino.ca.us,or by mail at 951 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, CA 95482.
Sources:
Anderson Valley Advertiser, 11 October2015,
http://theava.com/archives/48675
Anderson Valley Advertiser, 15 October2015,
http://theava.com/archives/48802#2
Anderson Valley Advertiser, 21 October2015,
http://theava.com/archives/49009
Anderson Valley Advertiser, 4 November2015,
http://theava.com/archives/49390#3
Anderson Valley Advertiser, 10 November2015,
http://theava.com/archives/49567#2
Anderson Valley Advertiser, 8 January2016,
http://theava.com/archives/51415#2
Redheaded Blackbelt news website, 4 February 2016,
http://kymkemp.com/2016/02/04/australian-mother-searches-for-daughter-missing-on-the-north-coast/
NT News, posted 18 February 2016,
http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/centr...1/news-story/6ac8f88f72e6692343581cbb88a176f3
