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Santa Barbara TV anchor missing, station says

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Authorities are investigating the disappearance of a longtime Santa Barbara television news anchor, her station announced Wednesday. KEYT-TV Channel 3 said in a statement that it had learned Wednesday morning that Paula Lopez had ‘gone missing.’ Lopez, who spent six years at KCAL-TV Channel 9 in Los Angeles, co-anchors the Santa Barbara station’s 11 p.m. broadcast.

‘We have been in touch with her family and know they, as well as local authorities, are doing everything possible to find her safe and sound,’ KEYT General Manager Mark Danielson said. ‘Our thoughts and prayers are extended to Paula as well as her family and those searching to find her.... We hope for her safe and speedy return.’

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Lopez has spent the better part of two decades at KEYT, first joining the Santa Barbara station as an intern in 1985, according to her biography on KEYT’s website. She spent six years at KCAL in Los Angeles, but returned to KEYT in 1996 to spend more time with her family.

Lopez is married to Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Frank Ochoa, her biography says. They have three children.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Photo: Paula Lopez Credit: KEYT TV

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