‘Missing’ actress Laura McCulloch arrested in LA after throwing drink at mom, baby
An Australian actor who was feared missing in Los Angeles after going on a first date has been found – in custody.
Laura McCulloch, 37, was last seen heading to a restaurant in the beachside neighborhood Santa Monica on Friday and her family at home in Melbourne hadn’t heard from her since.
There was concern about the person she was meeting and that her online dating profile had apparently disappeared and her phone switched off.
A missing persons report was filed with the Los Angeles Police Department.
However, it has emerged that McCulloch was arrested by the neighboring Santa Monica Police Department for “public intoxication and resisting arrest” and taken to jail.
Cops told news.com.au that McCulloch was alleged to have been drunk at a restaurant on Friday, threw a drink at a child, “charged” police and bit an officer.
She appeared before a local LA court on Tuesday.
Friends’ alarm at missing Aussie
Before her whereabouts were uncovered, McCulloch’s sister Clare told 9News that her friends raised the alarm when she failed to show up after going on a first date with a man she met on either Tinder or Bumble.
“They haven’t heard from her and she didn’t show up to work or her yoga class,” she said.
“Her phone is now off, I’ve been trying to call her as well.
“I’m absolutely beside myself, we all are.
“It’s a total nightmare, it’s so hard to not think the absolute worst.”
Police statement
In a statement to news.com.au, Santa Monica police said officers were called to a “battery” incident at a restaurant on Arizona Avenue near Santa Monica’s famous beach.
They had been told a woman, later identified as Laura McCulloch, had thrown a drink at a diner and their 2-year-old child.
“Upon arrival, officers contacted Ms. McCulloch who showed obvious signs of intoxication,” the statement read.
“While conducting the investigation, McCulloch charged at the officers while yelling expletives.
“During efforts to detain her, she became physically combative, kicked at officers and bit one officer on the shoulder.”
She was taken to Santa Monica jail and booked for public intoxication and resisting arrest.
“Bubbly and vivacious” McCulloch moved to LA from New York and has worked as a nanny between acting jobs.
Her supposed disappearance was reported to the Los Angeles Police Department but Clare said the force would not yet investigate. She instead hired a private investigator to help with the search. The restaurant had said it would not hand over the CCTV until the police are involved.
McCulloch’s last acting credit was in an indie film called “Covid Support Group.”
In March 2021 she played Madame Le Farge in an American adaptation of “A Tale of Two Cities” at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.
Before that, she appeared in an Australian film called “The Black Sheep” in 2010, and in 2009 was in ballet film “The Nutcracker.
