SnowGlobe attendee from Petaluma missing
Updated Jan. 3 4pm with investigation time line information.
Updated: Jan. 2 at 5:25pm
By Kathryn Reed
A 19-year-old Petaluma woman has not been seen since the last night of SnowGlobe.
“Our best hope is she is with somebody and she is safe. It is not like her not to respond or to try to get a hold of us to let us know she is OK,” Kim Miller-Byrne told Lake Tahoe News of her daughter, Alyssa Byrne.
Alyssa Byrne came to the South Shore on Dec. 29 to attend the three-day music festival in South Lake Tahoe. She and friends were staying at the Horizon hotel-casino in Stateline.
Alyssa Byrne
Family members say the last text the 19-year-old sent to a friend was several hours before midnight on New Year’s Eve.
South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler told Lake Tahoe News the initial report came to his department at 9:26pm Jan. 1. He said South Tahoe officers made contact with the missing woman’s friends who had been with her at the Horizon who said they saw Byrne at the casino between 12:30 and 1am New Year’s Day.
The case has been turned over to Douglas County Sheriff’s Department because the casino is in that department’s jurisdiction.
Sgt. Pat Brooks with Douglas County told Lake Tahoe News casino tapes are being pulled so investigators can see if Byrne is on any of them and if so, who else is with her.
Uhler told LTN, “We sent a teletype to DCSO, (which is) standard procedure at 0010 hours [12:30am Jan. 2] just 3½ hours after we learned she was missing. Between the time she was reported to us and we learned that she was at the Horizon, we actively looked for her and tracked information which led to our discovery about her being seen in Horizon. We learned this minutes before sending the teletype. Further, complete report information was sent to DCSO shortly after the start of the business day the following morning.”
Douglas County officially took the lead on the investigation at 3pm Jan. 2.
Earlier Uhler said a sweep of the surrounding area was made each night to look for anyone who may have fallen into a snowbank or had some other mishap.
Miller-Byrne said the last text her daughter made to a friend said she was catching the shuttle back to the hotel.
Byrne had been texting her parents every day as a way to check in.
“(Tuesday) she did not text. We texted her and got no response. We called her cell phone. It goes straight to voicemail,” Miller-Byrne said.
“The friends she went up with looked for her and could not find her. They left and brought all of her belongings, including her cell phone charger.”
The missing woman’s parents contacted police in South Tahoe on Jan. 1. Her dad, Kevin, is in town now.
“My husband has been going from casino to casino to try to get her picture out and get as much information out as possible,” Miller-Byrne said. “I just want her back.”
Byrne is 19, 5-feet-3-inches tall, about 125 pounds, blue eyes, dyed black hair, fair complexion, and was last wearing all black.
Anyone with information, should call Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at (775) 782.5126.
Have they tried to locate what cell towers the phone is pinging off?
Very bad news,
Pray for anything but the worst. It does not sound good.
To whomever wrote this article.
You should post that she is missing under #snowglobe on Instagram. The demographic at the festival is the same one who will be blowing up that #.
If I understand this correctly, at some point she became seperated from her friends when she was ready to go back to her hotel and that is when the mystery began. I pray for the speedy reunion with her parents and all is well as soon as possible.I would ask her friends if there was any kind of problem that occurred between them at all. WE are happy with special events coming to our town and certainly wish a safe experience here. On behalf of her family, we are waiting for god news on your daughter. Im a parent and grandparent and you always worry about their welfare.
Very sad and hopefully it’s the same situation as the last girl that went missing in this town. She partied to hard and ended up shacking up with a man for a few days and not letting anyone know her whereabouts
Time is of the essence. Please can the police, sheriff get the search dogs going w/ a scent. Tahoe residents can help the father with posters. Please do not hesitate to ask us for help. Prayers are with this young lady and her family.
Did she get on one of the buses going back to the casinos? busdrivers? Any way to let the concertgoers help w/ this? Someone must have seen or heard something.
I hope they find her. The world is not safe to let your daughters go anywhere.
I attended Snowglobe that evening, and if she took the shuttle back it dropped everyone off near the Holiday Inn on Lake Tahoe Blvd (the shuttle driver told me that was the closest place they could drop people off). The shuttle did NOT bring individuals to their designated hotels. It would have been about a .7 mile walk from Holiday Inn to The Horizon, which means she may have been walking along the dark streets alone. This is very well the time something could have happened, unless her friends really did see her back at The Horizon later that evening.
Who is UHLER? the article refers to UHLER but doesn’t identify who that is???
Brian Uhler — South Lake Tahoe police chief. We have corrected the story.
Thank you,
Kathryn Reed, LTN publisher
What kind of shuttle drops people off 7 miles from their destination?! Most of them inebriated. Not a good scenario
Reading comprehension goes a long way
John,
That’s .(point) 7 mile or 7/10 of a mile.
Jess,
At that time on NYE, Hwy 50 is closed and Loop Roads (such as the are) are packed and would tie up the shuttle to the point where it’s faster to walk,,,,, not to mention the people back at LTCC waiting for that shtttle, AS long as she stayed on Hw. 50, (the most direct route back to Horizion), Everything would be very brightly lit. Z
Hey Jeff… Your comment was lacking thoughtfulness in the light of the situation. Maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself unless they are supportive of the family and not implying that she is “shacking” up with some douchbag!
Didnt see the . Dude. Still not really a shuttle if its not taking u to your final destination though. .7 is alot closer than 7. Your rt. But maybe not close enough.
Things happen in broad daylight too. So what does lighting have to do with it.
No matter how far or close, she is missing. Being a parent of young adults, we feel for the family. Anything we can do to help? We live not far from the Al Tahoe Pioneer Trail intersection and enjoyed the music. We should have a search party.
Last seen was on Beaver Brae in Christmas Valley. We hope this is a positive lead.
“We sent a teletype to DCSO, (which is) standard procedure at 0010 hours [12:30am] just 3½ hours after we learned she was missing.”
The timeline in this article really makes no sense… If her friends saw her between 12:30 and 1:00 AM on New Years Day at the Horizon, how is it possible that the SLTPD was already investigating a “missing person” 3.5 hours earlier (9 PM New Years Eve)? Uhler claims he started the investigation 3.5 hours before 12:30 AM, but at that time (according to the available information), she was still at SnowGlobe with her friends. So, according to this article, SLTPD was investigating her disappearance before she went missing? Doesn’t add up…
I would be very pleased to volunteer my tracking dogs to help search for her, when and if the formal search teams have pulled out. I worked recently the missing man in Camino and proved he was not taken by a cougar, also we were right on in the area where he was located thanks to our search.
I don’t know how to contact the family and my hounds have worked several missing person cases and they work urban scent trails well – crowds are no problem.
I live in Elk Grove, Ca. Keep me in mind for the future if needed.
I forgot my email is trackingk9s@yhaoo.com
we have worked cases on deceased people – which is sad to think about but we do have experience.
@karen…when I read Jeff’s post I actually felt a little relieved at the thought. I’m sure her parents would rather her be with somebody by choice. Just sayin…
Laura, I can’t find a reference to the Beaver Brae sighting, do you have a link to it? Timing of the sighting? That’s like 15 miles from Stateline, NV, on a cold night, and lots of snow on the ground. I was on Blitzen Rd near Shakori that night.
I am from the town where she lives. A local restaurant (the family works and patronizes) is hosting a dine and donate event where people can also send money to. Her parents will probably be off of work until they find her as well as hotel stays and such. Please keep her in and their family in your prayers.
http://www.petaluma360.com/article/20130103/COMMUNITY/130109866/1374/COMMUNITY0301?Title=Dine-and-donate-for-the-Byrne-family
linda alissa’s mom is asking 4 help,and she provide her cell # 707 799 9556 if you want contact her
Linda from Elk Grove,
If Alyssa is not found soon I’ll pay for your gas to get you here and back home with your tracking dogs.If you don’t have a place to stay I have a spare room and a fenced back yard for your hounds. Just tryin’ to help in anyway I can.
My name is Bob Rockwell and I can be reached at ((530) 544-0760. Or e mail bobroxtahoe@yahoo.com
Does anyone know if she has an iPhone? There is the “Find My iPhone” service that may be able to help. Just trying to help with any possibilities.
Linda, thank you for offering up your hounds and for Bob Rockwell for offering up your house. Love how Tahoe peeps are always pulling together to help each other out. Thank you very much!
The Deerfield Lodge is available for this search, I am originally from Petaluma, let us know what you need Petaluma family, 539.544.3337
530.544.3337, sorry 530.544.3337 is the correct number
If a search is put together, let us all know. Any updates from police on the last sighting? Anyway she could have not made it to the bus off Al Tahoe?
Shouldn’t the HORIZON have tapes of the casino floor/bar area and be able to see her and who she could have been with or left with? I trust DCSO is on this…
Thank you for the phone number – I talked with her mom – and will be calling Kevin her father.
Thank you too for the offer on the room but unfortunately I have to return home the same day to take care of my dogs that I will not be bringing up, but I can come back again as much as needed to help. And thank you on the offer to help with gas Bob, so far I am good but if things change I will let you know, and maybe I get stay during the day to recoup when I search as I might need to go out several times in one day – with rest in between. I will let you know and I certainly appreciate your kind offers.
My 18 year old daughter Taylor also attended Snowglobe 2012. Thankfully she made it home safe. Please let us know what we can do to help in your search for Alyssa. THIS IS EVERY PARENTS WORST NIGHTMARE. We will do whatever we can to help in your search.
I am praying for her safe return.
This is so sad of an outcome. RIP.
They found her. positive id on a body found between black bart and pioneer trl. :(