[UPDATE 9:10 p.m] 15-Year-Old Runaway from Kansas Disappears a Second Time in Eureka
Laila Cross, a 15-year-old girl from Larned, Kansas, ran away from a residence in Eureka on Saturday, October 19 and is thought to be currently in Humboldt County. She had been staying at a family friend’s home since Tuesday when she left without permission between 3-5:00 a.m. Laila had originally run away from her Kansas home on October 11 but was discovered by law enforcement at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park on October 15.
Laila has brown hair, hazel eyes and wears black-rimmed prescription glasses. There is evidence that suggests her hair could now be blonde. The night she ran away she was wearing black and white Adidas shoes, grey sweats and a red Chico hoodie. Laila is 5’2’’ and approximately 130 lbs. Her family “loves her and misses her so much” and asks if she is sighted to contact the Eureka Police Department(707) 441-4060.
Sandra Cross, Laila’s mother, recounted how on the morning of October 11 she discovered that her daughter had run away from her Kansas home, “I went to wake her up for school…and she was gone”. Sandra did not anticipate her daughter’s decision considering “we didn’t have any issues. We were goofy hanging out … next morning she was gone.”
Over the next four days, Laila and an 18-year-old male companion would travel over 1,500 miles to Humboldt County. On October 15, police would find her and the companion at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. They were found in a 1990 White Geo Tracker with a green top and Kansas plates.
Police contacted Sandra and informed her that Laila had been found. Arrangements were made for Laila to stay with a friend of the family who lived in Eureka and fly back to Kansas on Saturday, October 19. Since Tuesday, Laila had kept in contact with her mother saying “she wanted to come home”.
Laila once again fled when on “the morning of the flight, she jumped out the window.” She left the home she had been staying between 3:00 and 5:00 am. Evidence of Laila disguising herself was discovered when “bleach powder was found in the bathroom and her bag.”
The last direct contact Laila made was Sunday at approximately 3:00 pm. Sandra said, “She texted me on a text mail thing and said ‘hey its laila im ok im safe i love you bye.’” Having tracked Laila’s movements on her phone’s GPS before being found at Prairie Creek, Sandra thinks Laila is “camping out or possibly in hotels. But most likely camping.” Sandra could no longer rely on GPS tracking to locate Laila because she had “changed numbers.”
A Facebook user commented on Sandra’s post on the page “Humboldt County on Alert” claimed she saw Laila and the male companion driving on Henderson on Saturday. The commenter remembered the vehicle because “I had made a comment about the vehicle to my mom because it looked like a toy it’s so tiny and narrow, I noticed the license plate was different looking.”
Sandra explained how the family was originally from California and “moved to Kansas a year ago.” She surmised Laila’s destination was Humboldt County because it “was our favorite vacation spot. We had talked about moving there before.”
If you see Laila or know anything about his disappearance, email us at [email protected], message via Facebook, or call in a tip at (707)560-1543. Other reporting options include calling the Eureka Police Department(707)441-4060, the Larned Kansas Police Department (620)285-8545 or the Pawnee County Crime Stoppers (620)285-3277.
UPDATE 9:10 p.m.: 15-year-old runaway Laila Cross may have been sighted today at the Fortuna Seventh-day Adventist Church located at 2301 Rohnerville Road. A resident of Fortuna was driving by when they noticed “a young girl with a bad bleach job and very dark roots.” She was standing in the parking lot alone and appeared to be “looking for services” the church offers travelers. The Fortuna resident “didn’t put two and two together until I got home and read the article.”
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girl needs to be brought home and have all her toys taken away. teach her respect and how to behave. stop being her buddy and parent her, cause she will keep running.
Yes, let’s punish her and make her home life as unpleasant as possible, because that’s the obvious way to make her decide not to immediately leave again.
You are always so sarcastic, it underscores just how miserable you are!
At least Bushytails was responding to the harshness of a comment. What’s your excuse?
I agree. We have rules. But she thinks i should treat her like shes older. But shes only 15 , will not have 18 year old privileges.
Sandra, my love, thoughts, and prayers go out to both of you. We all do the best we can for our children and it is obvious you care. I hope she returns home to you soon.
Marc
That 18 year old she’s with is feeding her “you’re 18 now do what you want, come with MEEEEE” info. He put the bait out there and she took it. I totally understand the rebellion, especially if a boy with a car is involved. Anything can happen. But unless they got money, that white Geo is going to be parked somewhere, with a kid that has no clue what Humboldt is.
Don’t fault her yet, find that kid she’s with.
I hope you find Laila and soon. Humboldt is no place for a 15yr old girl on her own. I will most definately keep my eyes open. Best of luck.
She is passed the point of that type of discipline, that only works with children.
She needs to be mentored into adulthood because she has obviously said goodbye to childhood.
you are 100 percent correct . at 15 they are young adults. and honestly parenting is more about teaching anf showing then punishment and privlages. i pe4sonally was on my own at 15 working several jobs paying taxes and rent bills ect . age is merely a number and today our children have more knowledege and more expactions of them than ever before. you can not treat someone like a child and 3xpext them to act like a adult.
I just hope that her adventure with a boyfriend ends well. It certainly puts her at risk. When you’re young, now can seem so important. Her 18 year old boyfriend ought to know better.
Because he is 3 years older?
Yes. Just as it would be expected she would not take off with an 11 year old.
ahh but females mature so mucj faster than males
People don’t know anything about child development. Girls mature faster than boys. A 15 year-old girl is more mature than most 20 year old boys. 18 was just a number picked out of the air by an idiot for the time that children should be adults. Look at the research and the brain scans. Oh, I forgot that science doesn’t matter to a bunch of you. Oh, and life is still dangerous for all of us, not just 15 year olds. I am a male and I moved out at 16. Best thing I ever did.
That’s true. I know a fair number of men in their 40s who have not matured yet. Maybe 40 should be the legal drinking age for males.
Well if he had not been given a driver’s license until his age of probable maturity, they’d still be in Kansas.
Wow how out of tuch you are!
Ive found teens to be incredibly resourceful.
Hell when i was 15 in the 80’s i knew how to take a bus, how to lie to my mom, etc. And dating older dudes in their mid 20’s wasnt really seen as bad back then. Maybe in words but rarely in practice, no one told us about stauatory rape then.
That was without internet or cel phones.
I wasnt a “bad kid”, i kept my grades up. Made stupid decisions sure but have to say i see friends in their 30’s&40’s making waaayyy stupider decisions than i ever did in my teens.
To mom Sandra dont let folks blame you. All you can do is try to teach self responsibility and good values to your kid. They are their own person. Its a good sign she has been in touch at all.
Unfortunately an 18 yr old boy is often at same maturity as 15 yr old girl so he probably doesnt get it. He’ll defer to her. It sux that if he was 17 yesterday and 18 today somehow thats supposed to be different.
Is that where we’re going with this? Come meet my ex wife. She thought she was Peter Pan and never had to grow up and she’s in her 50s now. How about we don’t do the War with the Sexes thing here today.
One would think the 18 year old boyfriend would have ended up in jail when they were found in Prairie Creek for his role in all of this with a 15 year old minor…but apparently not.
so they let the 18 y/o guy go so he could cause it all over again?
🕯🌳Where’s the dude that brought her out here from Kansas? They said she was from here before, who did she know? Where did she hangout and with? I’m sure there asking the appropriate questions? We hope? ⚖
“Probably camping”. Hmmmm is the devils playground a campground? I honestly don’t know which is better, the green ghetto of humboldt or Poopstain Kansas. Go back home. My guess is she’s getting fed false promises on how they are gonna hit it rich in the weed game while living in a van down by the river. I have seen it a hundred times.
Sandra, you’re not in Kansas anymore.
Ever been to Kansas? You’d run-away too.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I looked up Larned, KS. Yikes, flat earth and in the middle of nowhere. Plus, it’s Kansas. Especially if you were raised in California.
Poor girl must have heard some rap music with lyrics about weed and headed straight for Cali.
You obviously have never been cow tipping, or drove around all night putting freshly emptied beer bottles in farmers mailboxes. It’s a hoot! I was actually just in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota on vacation, had a blast. In Sioux Falls I was asked by foreign tourists to take their picture several times.
https://visitsiouxfalls.com/
Oh I know Kansas, and Oklahoma and Missouri. I escaped at 11. Will never go back, thanks. At least Missouri has some hills.
You are unlikely to live in the rural Midwest. Cow tipping is is the dairy farmers have a good laugh at citiots. “… the whole notion of cow tipping is, to put it politely, bullcrap. “There’s more cows that have been tipped in people’s imaginations,” says Wilson, “than in the real world.”” https://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/cow-tipping-myth-or-bullcrap/
Im definatley in Kansas. Smelll the cow shit on a daily.
Never read Shakespear? Ever heard of Romeo and Juliet?
Romeo and Juliet di int have no interwebs. Or they could have skipped off to norcal.
I live in the Midwest. It sucks socially, in a lot of ways. Also, parents moved me twice during high school, which is a whole other deal. Be careful, young lady.
This comment is frightening in it’s hatred toward females.
pink floyd shirt.
she’s definitely on her own trip.
hope she’s safe on her adventure.
Nice how she likeS Grandma’s favorite band..
She was probably standing right next to the H.E.A.R.T. Program for adults I hope she understands that all the bad kids in California get sent to Juvenile Hall , Barrow, or C.Y.A. I hope she doesn’t mix up with the wrong crowds and stays out of trouble because there are so many young trouble makers that end up making there own life extremely difficult and it’s very unpleasant and unfortunate so Go Back Home in a few more years she will be a adult slow down and don’t rush things https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=p4-lDw3qAXc&feature=share
This shit pisses me off I hate guys like that. Disrespectful punkass.
if you are reading this baby girl, if he was worth a shit he would send you home to your mom to finish school and wait for you. He is a piece of shit, you should get the fuck away from him… With damn near 8 billion people in the world you do NOT have to pick that one lop piece of shit. I promise. Girl go home and get an education while it’s still somewhat free. Blue-collar, white color… doesn’t matter. Find what you love and learn it. Fuck him in the neck.
Or, you know, her home life was terrible, and she finally persuaded her friend who had a vehicle and money to help her get away from it. Do I know that to be the case? Nope. But you don’t know either. Jumping to conclusions won’t help.
At 15 girls THINK they’re all grown up. She thinks shes in love and wants to be with this guy. They will run out of money if they’ve not already and to support themselves they both will be easy prey for someone to exploit them..especially her. Once caught up in that it will spell doom. Do u think hes gonna go get a job? Get an apartment for them? Nope. Sooner they find this girl the safer she will be even if she has to be put into juvenile detention until she can be brought home. How many young girls do we need to see pushed into the sex and drug trade never to be seen alive again?
Thank~you for the kind words ma’am
My cousin Sandra Cross is a fantastic mother and provider for her children..
These comments are uncalled for.. Sandra you know who you are..you need not read into this pile of worthlessness.. you family knows you and knows right from wrong and we got this…please don’t even listen to the comments, you know who you are baby girl..
I love you so very much and I apologize for everyone’s comments. They have no idea..
Head up, stay strong…I love you!
From a mother who can relate to this on so many different levels and has a son who has ALWAYS had my back. Go home baby girl. At least listen to someone who gives a shit about you. I pray the authorities find her/him before it’s too late. 🙏🙏🙏😇🙋👧🙎❤💜💔💌