Human remains found in California desert in search for missing New Jersey woman Lauren Cho

Author: CBS NEWS
Published: Updated:
LAUREN CHO
Credit: SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Searchers looking for a missing New Jersey woman Sunday in California’s Yucca Valley discovered human remains. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said investigators were in the open desert looking for 31-year-old Lauren Cho, missing since June, when the remains were found.

During the search for Cho, “unidentified human remains were located in the rugged terrain of the open desert of Yucca Valley,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

CBS New York reported Cho disappeared in June during a cross-country trip to California. She was reportedly under mental distress when she walked away from a resort where she’d been staying with her boyfriend, CBS Los Angeles reported.

The remains were taken to the coroner for identification and cause of death, but that process could take several weeks.

Investigators did not indicate whether or not they believe the remains to be Cho.

Some critics have said the case of Cho, who is Korean American, and those of other women of color have received far less media coverage than that of Gabby Petito, a missing White woman who was found dead in Wyoming last month.

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