USC student reported missing in downtown Los Angeles


Photo courtesy of Facebook

William Goodeve, a rising senior majoring in cinema and media studies, was reported missing to the Los Angeles Police Department on June 25 after reportedly failing to return to his off-campus apartment for 36 hours and exhibiting unusual behavior.

According to a news release published on the Los Angeles Police Department website on June 29, Goodeve was last seen on June 23 in the 2300 block of Scarff Street in Los Angeles. He is described as a 20-year-old white male with brown hair and brown eyes, and is believed to be wearing blue jeans and a blue button-up shirt without his glasses, shoes nor bag. He is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs approximately 155 pounds.

Goodeve’s roommate Dan Giles, a rising junior and media arts and practice major, said Goodeve had been away from the apartment for extended periods of time for about a week. Some of Goodeve’s friends from the Caruso Catholic Center also voiced concerns regarding Goodeve’s unusual behavior and stopped by his apartment, located approximately a mile from campus, according to Giles.

Giles said he last saw Goodeve when he briefly returned to the apartment on June 22, causing his apartment mates to call the Department of Public Safety.

Goodeve’s mother Jane Goodeve filed a missing persons report with the LAPD on June 25 and has been working closely with the police ever since. She has also been calling local hospitals, homeless shelters and Catholic churches for any information, according to Giles.

Giles said William Goodeve has been sighted multiple times by homeless shelter volunteers in Santa Monica and downtown L.A., and is believed to be gravitating toward public spaces and approaching people to tell them about God.

According to the LAPD website, police are normally given a very limited role while conducting missing persons investigations, as all people have “a right to be left alone.” However, if a missing person is considered “endangered,” due to medical problems or life-threatening situations, police will take appropriate investigative measures. Once a missing person is found, police will only notify the person who initially filed the report. Police cannot disclose the location or whereabouts of the missing person without his or her consent.

In addition to the LAPD investigation, Giles has been using social media to try and gather information about Goodeve’s whereabouts, by creating Reddit threads and posting on Facebook, including a student meme page run by USC students.

Anyone who has seen William Goodeve or has any information regarding his location can call LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at (213) 996-1800.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

 

 

CLARIFICATION: This story has been condensed from earlier versions for clarity and to omit speculative opinions expressed by friends and on social media.

The Daily Trojan regrets these errors.

5 replies
  1. Chai Zheng Xin
    Chai Zheng Xin says:

    This news is especially disturbing to me, given that I knew Will for a short time while we participated in USC’s Explore LA trip to Pasadena in my first semester in USC. Really hope that he is found soon and all help be given to him.

  2. Bennett Schneider
    Bennett Schneider says:

    This just happened to another friend of a friend, almost identical behavior and location. He was eventually recognized and taken to USC County Hospital where friends caught up with him. There’s a Facebook page called DTLA Town Square: the downtown folks on it were INSTRUMENTAL in finding that fiend. Seek them out.

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