By Dolores Quintana
Heidi Planck, a 39 year old Culver City mother who has been missing from the city of Downey since October 17, has been spotted on surveillance video that was filmed the day of her disappearance as reported by NBC Los Angeles. Planck is seen in the video walking her dog in an alley behind the building on Hope and Flower Streets where her dog was later discovered. A resident nearby released the video which shows Planck around 6:30 p.m. which is hours after she was last seen by her friends in Downey at her son’s football game.
The apartment building at Hope and Flower is the same building where her dog Seven was found around 7:00 p.m. wandering the 28th floor without Planck. As a resident noted, no one can access the building without a security card.
NBC Los Angeles quoted Planck’s friend, Danielle Nadolny, who said, “Looking at the video it seemed like she was familiar with the area. She didn’t have her purse. It looked like she was just taking her dog out for a walk.”
Surveillance footage from Planck’s home showed the woman leaving for the football game in her Range Rover and taking the dog with her. This is why her friends have focused their search for Planck in the Downtown LA neighborhood near Hope and Flower by placing flyers and asking for information from the people in that area.
Two of Planck’s friends spoke to NBC Los Angeles under the condition of anonymity, one was quoted as saying, “Being that we knew she had her dog with her when she left the football game in Downey. A dog isn’t going to walk itself to downtown LA. So we just in our gut felt she must have been there as well.” The second friend who wished to remain anonymous said, “We know Heidi. We know her stride. She did not seem in distress. She was definitely walking casually the way she normally strides.”
Her family and friends have not given up the search and recently held a vigil in Culver City. Their hope is that the new footage can pinpoint the time when Planck disappeared and aid the police in solving the mystery.
According to NBC Los Angeles, Planck’s friends have requested that anyone who might have surveillance footage of the area around Hope and Flower to review the video and check if they can find any additional information about Planck’s disappearance. The time frame that is most likely to yield important information is between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
The LAPD has no comment on this development but the investigation into Heidi Planck’s disappearance is ongoing and they have not ruled foul play out as a cause.
