A 14-year-old Palmdale girl has been missing since before dawn Saturday, and detectives say her family is deeply worried about her safety. Lina Khachatryan was last seen at 4 a.m. on the 38000 block of Clermont Avenue, wearing a black hoodie and grey sweatpants, before she vanished without a trace.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Palmdale Station is now asking the public for help finding her, according to a bulletin from LA County Sheriffs. Khachatryan is described as a white female, 5 feet 4 inches tall and 158 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Deputies have classified her as an at-risk missing juvenile, a designation that under California law can be triggered by concerns ranging from a lack of any prior runaway history to medical needs or fears of foul play, though the department has not said which specific factor applies in her case, according to California Penal Code § 14215.
The missing juvenile bulletin was created by the LASD Operations Center and carries the signature of Sheriff Robert G. Luna. It lists Khachatryan’s case under NIC number M269021237 and FCN 2322622700125, and notes that her family is concerned for her well-being. A photo included with the advisory is dated 2026. The alert was also distributed through Nixle at 2:59 p.m. Saturday, per the Nixle notification.
What Triggers an At-Risk Classification
Once a report like Khachatryan’s is filed, state law leaves no room for delay. California Penal Code § 14211 bars local police and sheriff’s departments from imposing any waiting period before accepting a missing person report, even for a suspected runaway, and requires that such reports take priority over property crime investigations, according to the Bulldog Law firm’s summary of the statute. Because Khachatryan is under 21 and has been designated at-risk, LASD policy required personnel to enter her case into the National Crime Information Center system within one hour of the report and to notify the department’s Homicide Bureau Missing Persons Unit right away, per the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s own Manual of Policy and Procedures…