[Update: Friday, May 31] The remains of a female that were found yesterday, Thursday, May 30, near Paradise Cove in Malibu were positively identified as Jennifer Michelle Lorber, a Colorado woman who had gone missing one week earlier. An official with the Los Angeles County Office of Medical Examiner-Coroner confirmed the identification to The Malibu Times.
[Update: Thursday, May 30]: Nearly a week after 30-year-old Jennifer Michelle Lorber went missing in Malibu, the remains of an adult female were found near the Paradise Cove shoreline on Thursday afternoon, per the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Divers with Special Enforcement Bureau made the discovery. Officials have not yet identified the body.
“Positive ID of the remains will be determined at later date,” LASD shared in a social media post.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in locating 30-year-old Jennifer Michelle Lorber.
The Colorado resident went missing late on the night of Thursday, May 23, in Malibu, according to authorities. An online LASD bulletin detailed that Lorber was last contacted at 11 p.m. that day.
She rented a 2018 white Toyota Rav4 and was staying in a motel within city limits, at the 22000 block of Pacific Coast Highway, after flying in from Colorado.
Deputy Trina Schrader confirmed the Toyota was found by authorities abandoned along Pacific Coast Highway near Paradise Cove after midnight on Sunday, May 27.
Lorber’s friend, Sky LaBrot, shared on social media that a K-9 team caught Lorber’s scent up to the water line.
“Someone found her bag on the beach with her wallet, credit cards and the keys to the rental car in it—and turned it in at Paradise Cove Restaurant,” LaBrot wrote. “Her phone hasn’t been on since Thursday around midnight and that’s when the texts stopped. All signs point to drowning. It will be a few days until we know more.”
Schrader confirmed the county sheriff’s department missing persons unit “has spearheaded numerous search operations utilizing a search and rescue team, K-9s, Air Unit 11, personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Los Angeles County Lifeguards, as well as LASD Marina Rescue boat operators,” but did not comment on Lorber’s bag allegedly found on the beach.
Lorber is described as a 5-feet-1-inch-tall, 100-pound female with brown hair and brown eyes. Per the LASD bulletin, “The missing person suffers from depression, and the family is concerned for her wellbeing.”
Early Tuesday morning, May 28, the sheriff’s department shared on social media that rescue boats were deployed near Malibu beach areas and kelp beds to search for Lorber.
Anyone with information may contact Detective Pereida with the LASD Homicide Bureau, Missing Persons Detail, at 323.890.5500. Additionally, anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 800.222.8477, visiting lacrimestoppers.org or downloading the P3Tips app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
