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Rebecca Parker Mankey of Palo Alto, who made national headlines when she verbally assaulted a man wearing a Make America Great Again hat in a Palo Alto Starbucks on April 1, has been reported missing.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued a bulletin Friday saying that Mankey, 46, had been reported missing and that she was believed to be the area of Aberdeen, Washington, as of 9 a.m. Friday. As of Monday morning, the sheriff’s office did not return a phone call requesting an update on her case.
The Aberdeen Police Department also issued a missing-person bulletin seeking help from the public in finding Mankey. As of Monday morning, April 22, Mankey had not been located, said Aberdeen police spokesman Lt. C.J. Chastain.
“The Lake County Sheriff’s office said her cellphone pinged in this area. Her family said they are not aware that she has any connections here,” he said.
Officers are actively looking for her, he added.
Mankey is driving a 2010 black Honda Accord with California license plate 8INB004. The sheriff’s office is asking that anyone with information regarding her whereabouts call 707-263-2690.
According to news reports from local outlets, Mankey had been visiting a friend in Lake County; she reportedly left Lake County on Thursday but didn’t return home. The Sheriff’s Office has not returned the Weekly’s calls requesting confirmation of that information.
Mankey lost her job at Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto soon after news went viral about her confrontation of a 74-year-old man in the California Avenue Starbucks. The man was wearing a red Make America Great Again cap associated with support for Donald Trump.
On April 3, Mankey resigned as co-chair, officer and a member of the Bayshore Progressive Democrats.
Friends of Mankey have put out alerts on Facebook about her disappearance. “I last saw her when she was leaving Lake County to head home yesterday,” Melissa Demyan wrote Friday. She said that it had been over 24 hours “since anyone has seen or heard from her.”
Mark Van Landuyt wrote on Facebook that Mankey “is a dear friend and a special human being — she is important to many people’s lives.”
Related content:
• Political polarization sparks confrontation at Starbucks, triggering online fury
• Cellphone video captures heated MAGA confrontation that went viral
