Search Underway After Actress' Passport, Phone Found Unattended On Beach

LOS ANGELES, CA — Authorities are continuing to search land and sea for a woman who remains missing after her belongings were found unattended on Venice Beach Wednesday night, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

A Good Samaritan contacted the Los Angeles Police Department after discovering a phone, shoes, wallet and passport on the sand south of the Venice Beach Pier.

Authorities identified the missing person as Ashanta Ayana Elise Cobb-McNeil, 30, of Las Vegas. Her loved ones said she sometimes goes by "Loni Legend," according to the Coast Guard.

The LAPD contacted the Coast Guard about Cobb-McNeil at around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday.

"The search has been going on since last night, since right after that report," a Coast Guard spokesperson told Patch Thursday afternoon.

The Coast Guard launched rescue crews from Station Los Angeles-Long Beach, Air Station Ventura, and diverted the cutter Narwhal to search the waters around Venice Beach.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Santa Monica lifeguards from Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division searched the shoreline, while the LAPD is coordinating a search on land, authorities said.

Anyone with information regarding Cobb-McNeil's whereabouts is urged to contact local authorities.