Angela Karmis

Update, Wednesday, 9 a.m.: Karmis was found safe Tuesday evening in a Pasadena hospital, authorities confirmed. No other information was released.

Original Report: Friends and loved ones of missing UCSB professor Angela Karmis gathered Tuesday evening at the corner of San Andres and Micheltorena streets to launch a search for her. Karmis, 32, has been missing since July 15.

Karmis was last seen walking on the 1500 block of Valerio Street near Elings Park on Friday evening, reportedly on her way towards San Andres and Micheltorena streets, according to a Facebook event formed for the search. John Berezney, who created the event, said she was supposed to have visited a friend on Friday evening and never showed up.

The same night, a discussion began on Facebook as to Karmis’s whereabouts. Berezney said someone announced in the online thread that Karmis was seen at a party, which hours later turned out to be false information.

Since 2010, Karmis has been an adjunct physics professor at the College of Creative Studies at UCSB, where she received her Ph.D. She has been an active member of the campus LGBTQ+ community as a transgender woman, and is also a co-host of a radio show on KCSB-FM. According to her colleagues, Karmis is currently homeless, and most recently lived in Lompoc.

Berezney said Karmis has had “mental health issues” in the past. He said the search was important for gaining community attention, as Karmis does not have close family relations. In addition, he said Karmis is without a cell phone. Santa Barbara Police spokesperson Sgt. Riley Harwood said Karmis is not currently determined to be “at risk,” which the police designate to a missing person with a history of threats to their own safety. “Of course, as we develop leads, that might change the situation,” Harwood said.

A search flyer describes Karmis as 6’1’’, with brown eyes, and a slight build. According to the flyer, Karmis has a tattoo on her elbow with the words “mind the gap.”

Anyone with information on Karmis’s whereabouts is encouraged to call detective Michael Claytor at (805) 897-2340 or email him at mclaytor@spbd.com.

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