Missing girl found in Escondido and returned home to Fallbrook

Village News Staff

A few tense hours July 6 surrounded the disappearance of Yanina "Yana" Macdermot, a 19-year-old woman, who is autistic and has the mental capacity of a 6-year-old.

Yana was found at a Starbucks in Escondido at 3440 Del Lago Blvd in Escondido, according to Lt. Aldo Hernandez, of the San Diego Sheriff Department Fallbrook substation.

The events leading up to her discovery started the morning of Wednesday, July 6 at about 5:13 a.m. Her parents noticed a chair next to their fence and Yana could not be found in the house. Somehow, Yana managed to take a bus out of Fallbrook and then into Vista, and then to the Escondido Transit Center, according to a spokesperson.

"We received tips that Yana was seen around Alturas and Ammunition and got on the bus heading south on Mission to Vista. There it appears she took a Sprinter to Escondido, arriving around 9:45 am," Hernandez said, adding the buses have cameras and the bus drivers can communicate with each other, and that's where Sheriffs and Search and Rescue looked.

Hernandez expressed thanks to everyone who helped find her.

"She was found at about 11:15 a.m. this morning (Wednesday, July 6) and we reunited her with her family," Hernandez said.

She was missing from her home on Pheasant Run Rd in Fallbrook. She was last seen Tuesday, July 5, at about 11:30 p.m. She has been missing on prior occasions.