A significant search operation is underway to locate a British traveler who has gone missing after traveling to San Francisco. Katherine Esther Gamboa Kerwood, 21, embarked on a solo trip to the US but concerns arose when she failed to check in at the hostel she had planned to stay at.
Having arrived at San Francisco International Airport from London on March 31, Katherine sent a message claiming she was at a hostel in Sacramento on the same day, a place she never arrived at. Her itinerary included visits to Sacramento, Calaveras Big Trees State Park, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz.
According to her worried father, security footage at the airport showed Katherine meeting a man with flowers upon her arrival. Despite exchanging text messages with her family until Friday, she did not respond when they requested a phone call. A family friend mentioned that Katherine’s lack of response was unusual as she is typically very communicative.
The family revealed that the man Katherine met at the airport, known as David, had previous encounters with her in the UK. Reports of Katherine’s disappearance have been filed with the San Francisco Police Department and authorities in the UK. The US law enforcement has initiated an extensive search effort to locate Katherine.
Officials have entered Katherine’s information into a statewide law enforcement database to notify officers throughout California. Her scheduled return flight is set for Wednesday.
