Amysena Beatrice Chappell, age 18, went missing from Hawthorne, CA in early September, 2004.
It always perplexes, and annoys me, when a case is being investigated by a completely different city (or even state, in some cases) from where the person went missing.
Firstly, it causes confusion. If you Google her name, you will be convinced that she went missing from Antioch, California (near San Francisco), which is 360 miles north of Hawthorne (near Los Angeles). Even the California Department of Justice website states that she is missing from Antioch. If a member of Law Enforcement were to locate someone (alive, or otherwise) that could be Amysena, they probably would not make the connection, as they’d be looking for women who went missing from the Los Angeles area.
Secondly, I’d like to know how, exactly, the police department of the small town of Antioch investigates this woman who was last known to be in Hawthorne, CA. Somehow I can’t see them trekking down to Los Angeles and interviewing people who might have seen her.
That said, here is the little that we know about her case.
Amysena Chappell was last heard from, by her family in Antioch, on either September 6 or 7, of 2004. She was in Hawthorne, California at the time, and was supposed to contact them again with Amtrak information for her return home. They never heard from her.
I am sure I read somewhere, at some point, that she had been visiting friends or family members in Hawthorne, but I can no longer locate that source – hate it when that happens!
In any case, it’s my opinion that she had to have gone to Hawthorne to visit someone. It’s just not a “destination” that someone would likely choose to travel to, alone, for a solo vacation. Los Angeles, maybe – but I’d never even heard of Hawthorne prior to researching this case.
Do you see the problem here? All of the ‘last known’ information is coming from her family in Antioch, and not from the person or people who were last with her.
Were these people uncooperative? Does her family not know who she was with? Or was it just never looked into, since the Hawthorne Police are not involved?
Has she ever voluntarily disappeared before? Was she having problems in Antioch? Did she ever purchase an Amtrak ticket? Did she have a cell phone? If so, did they check phone calls she made and received while in Hawthorne?
I’ve read a number of accounts from family members of the missing, with regard to their struggles in trying to get law enforcement to take the report. Some have just had to file their report with whatever agency was willing to accept it. I don’t know if that was the case here.
I truly hope she is alive and well somewhere, and that she will contact law enforcement to let them know she is ok…. It appears that her family really misses her and would like to know she is alive and well, even if her whereabouts are not disclosed.
However, because anything is possible, i wish this case would be placed in the hands of someone who can reasonably investigate it.
Sources
California Department of Justice
Myspace Page for Amysena Chappell
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I personally know Amysena..I last saw her, in August of 2004. She was in Stockton. I saw her at a mexican restaurant eating. That was the last time I saw her. I told this to her uncle Aaron when I saw him years later in 2007. I pray she is found safe.
This is a beautiful woman. I don’t understand who is investigating this case. She is a black female. I am wondering if she might at fallen victim to the “Grim Sleeper”. I would be interested in knowing what part of Hawthorne she was in? The time last seen? Lets see if this jerk is involved in this case. I don’t believe he sleep! He must have moved around the city in his quest for victims.
Okay, So I looked into the nearest Amtrak station. It would have been union station DTLA or long beach CA. I would like the family to contact LAPD about her. She very will could be a victim of the Grim Sleeper. Fits his MO and perhaps she was using public transportation while in Hawthorn. Why was she visiting? Family, friends, someone from the internet… To her family: I am sorry to read about her. I want to tell you to push the police for answers. They have a huge case load and you need to push for a resolution. God Bless…
I am Amysena’s aunt; her mother’s sister. Amy (as we call her), left Antioch because she was having some conflicts with her mother. However, after thinking about it, she called and said she was coming home. We didn’t hear from her again. She had never run away before. She spent a lot of time at my house with my family. She was very close to my kids, but after that last call, they never heard from her either. We are still hoping and praying that she would turn up, alive, somewhere…
Thank you for commenting! Do you know when the person(s) she was staying with there saw her last? There was a mention of a train or bus ticket but I’m guessing nobody in Southern California knows if she actually left there by bus or train?
She used to have a webpage on NamUs (NamUs #MP1160) but that has since been removed. She still has a webpage on the California Department of Justice at https://oag.ca.gov/missing/person/amysena-chappell .
Has anyone heard about her possibly being recovered or identified?