Father Of 15-Year-Old Who Went Missing In LA County Arrested

MONTEREY PARK, CA — The father of a 15-year-old girl who went missing for a week during a bicycle ride to a relative's house was arrested on suspicion of child abduction, conspiracy and falsifying a police report.

According to the Monterey Park Police Department, Jeffery Chao was arrested on Friday in connection to the disappearance of his daughter Alison Jillian Chao in Monterey Park on July 16.

"The Monterey Park Police Department Investigations Bureau is still currently investigating this incident and has no further comment at this time. We want to assure the community of Monterey Park that the department remains steadfast in its commitment to the safety and well-being of residents,” according to the Monterey Park Police Department.

The arrest is a major twist in a story that gripped the Southland. Alison's parents, Jeffrey and Alison Chao, are in the midst of a divorce and child-custody battle, with the mother recently awarded full custody of the teen.

Alison was reported missing on July 16 after she left her father's home in Monterey Park to ride her bike to her aunt's house in San Gabriel. She was last seen at about 6:23 p.m. on Ring camera that day and her aunt called her father at about 8 p.m. when she had yet to arrive.

On Tuesday, Alison was found outside of ABC7's studio in Glendale. A security guard at the studio said Alison was walking and had been followed by a woman who recognized her as a missing minor and called the police.

"She was very clear on 'I've come to ABC to tell my story. No one else will listen to me,'" the woman who alerted police told ABC7.

Jeffrey Chao held a news conference later that day with his attorney and other relatives, thanking the public for their help finding his daughter. During the conference, Alison's aunt said she believed Alison ran away because she didn't want to be with her mother.

The girl's mother, Annie Chao, also issued a statement thanking the community for their efforts to find the teen while she was missing. She also decried what she described as "misinformation" that was circulating on various social media platforms that "contained uninformed opinions, speculation and hurtful comments about me and my family."

"Alison is a young girl and her feelings about my divorce from her father and understandably complicated, but she has a family, both my side and her dad's side, that loves and adores her," Annie Chao said.

Emily Robinson, a court-appointed attorney for Alison, also issued a statement blasting social media speculation surrounding the case and the custody battle.

"This is a very complex situation that should not be in the public forum," Robinson said Tuesday. "It is being rendered even more damaging to Alison by misleading and inaccurate social media posts from third parties that have virtually no understanding of the facts ... The posts are rife with misrepresentations and false statements and hindered the investigation into Alison's whereabouts and efforts by her family and the police to ensure her safe return."

City News Service contributed to this report.