Missing 21-Year-Old Found Safe After Almost 7 Weeks

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, CA — A missing 21-year-old man who was believed by his family to be kidnapped in Rolling Hills Estates was found safe on Monday after he had been missing for more than six weeks, The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced.

Evan Michael Cockerham was last seen on Dec. 6 on the 700 block of Silver Spur Road, LASD said. In an Instagram post from his mother Shannon Byers Fogle, she said Cockerham had traveled to San Francisco and was able to message the family and make it home safe.

"The past 6wks has proven to be a real test of strength and endurance in the mind and souls of us all," Byers Fogle said. "Things went sideways for Evan, and we are so thankful that we have such an amazing son, who in the worst of times wasn’t broken."

According to Byers Fogle, Cockerham made his last phone call home from the Malaga Cove Library to say a man looking for a dog carjacked and kidnapped him. She said the difficult experience gave Cockerham insight into how hard life has become for unhoused people.

"Walking in the shoes of someone who had lost everything, has made him want to do more. For now he is happy to be home and taking some much needed rest," Byers Fogle said.