University Of Pennsylvania Student Goes Missing While Home In Lake Forest
LAKE FOREST (CBSLA) — A 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student who went to meet with a friend at a Lake Forest Park has gone missing, and his family is asking for the public's help to find him.
Blaze Bernstein was visiting his family in Lake Forest while on winter break from the University of Pennsylvania. He was last seen Tuesday entering Borrego Park in Foothill Park, Orange County sheriff's officials said.
Before going to the park, Bernstein had texted a high school friend at 9:30 p.m. to pick him up and take him to the park to meet a third person, according to Annee Della Donna, an attorney and friend of the family. The park is five minutes away, and the pair got there about 10:30 p.m., she said.
Bernstein went into the park alone while his friend waited back in the care, the attorney said. The friend eventually began texting Bernstein when he didn't return, then left, but returned at about 4 a.m. to look for him again.
"He didn't have anything with him," she said. "He didn't have his glasses or his medication. He didn't bring his wallet or a phone charger. I don't think he planned on this being a long trip and he just disappeared."
Bernstein has blue eyes, brown hair, 5-foot-8 and 130 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored jacket, dark gray long-sleeved zip-up and white Adidas shoes.
Witnesses say they saw someone matching his description walking along the southbound lanes of the 241 toll road in the disabled car lane at about 5:40 a.m. Wednesday, Della Donna said.
He has not been seen or heard from since Tuesday night. Della Donna says there was no evidence Bernstein was despondent in anyway, and was excited about going back to college and moving into a new apartment.
"He was on the internet that night buying things," the attorney said. "It all points to a kid who was not depressed, who was happy and wanted to go back to school."
Anyone with information about Bernstein's whereabouts can call the Orange County Sheriff's Department at (714) 647-7000.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)