DISCOVERY BAY (KRON) – Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputies are still out looking for a Discovery Bay woman who went missing on Tuesday night.
Deputies were in and out of the woman’s home and seen in the bay behind the house on Wednesday.
Neighbors in Discovery Bay are concerned and say they have heard the helicopters, and seen the boats searching all day for Ching ‘Ping’ Chen.
They all hope she is found safe.
“We’re definitely concerned because we don’t get news like that out here so I think that it caused a little bit of concern just knowing that that was close to happen and that is something that could happen here and yeah I think it kind of scared everybody as well,” Ariele Teran, a neighbor, said.
“Not much tragedy goes on out here. It’s a pretty quiet neighborhood usually,” Harry Chalmers, another neighbor, said.
Sheriff’s deputies are searching by land, air, and water for Chen.
She was last seen at her home around 7 p.m. Tuesday night.
The Sheriff’s Office spokesman says Chen’s husband flagged down a deputy outside his home on Beaver Lane at 9:22, about two and a half hours later,
He told the deputy she went out to water the plants and never returned.
“We’ve seen much more of a presence of police definitely more than the average day in Discovery Bay and also we’ve seen a lot of activity with the helicopters searching,” Teran said.
Deputies launched a search using K9s, a drone, marine patrol, and a search and rescue team but have not been able to locate Chen.
Around 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, KRON4 saw seal marine leave the Discovery Bay Yacht Harbor and head toward the bay behind Chen’s home.
“They had a rescue boat that was dragging, they came down and made a turn in our bay out here,” Chalmers said.
Chen is 53-years-old, about 4 feet 11 inches tall and about 88 pounds.
She was last seen wearing a light green tank top, green shorts, and pink sandals.
If you have any information, you’re asked to contact the sheriff’s office.
“I think everybody is praying for an outcome of her just safe at home with her family,” Teran said.