Australian actor Laura McCulloch found in Los Angeles days after she went missing after online date

An Australian actor who vanished for days after going on a date in Los Angeles, alarming friends and family, has remerged in a way no one expected.

An Australian actor who was feared missing in Los Angeles after going on a date has been found – in custody.

Laura McCulloch, 37, told friends on Friday she was heading out to a restaurant in the beachside neighbourhood of Santa Monica.

That was the last time her mates in LA or her family at home in Melbourne heard from her until Tuesday, US time.

There was concern about who she was meeting on the date and that her phone had been switched off, with family also claiming in a since-deleted social media post that the woman’s dating profiles had been wiped.

A missing persons report was filed with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on Monday after she failed to turn up for work.

However, it has now emerged that Ms McCulloch had been in jail for the entire time after she was arrested by officers from the neighbouring Santa Monica Police Department for “public intoxication and resisting arrest”.

Cops told news.com.au Ms 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.

Laura McCulloch was arrested in Los Angeles after a Tinder or Bumble date. Picture: Instagram

The Aussie actor was uncontactable after the meet up at a Japanese restaurant in Santa Monica, sparking fears from her family. Picture: Instagram

Friends’ alarm at missing Aussie

Before her whereabouts was uncovered, Ms McCulloch’s sister Clare told 9 News 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.”

Her bank cards also hadn’t been used since Friday, she hadn’t turned up to work and missed a scheduled yoga class.

Her disappearance was reported to the LAPD but Clare earlier claimed the force would not investigate and the restaurant had refused to hand over the CCTV before police were involved.

A GoFundMe was set up by Ms McCulloch’s cousin, Merrie, to help pay for a private investigator. The fundraising page has since been updated to note she had been found, but said the family were currently “unable to confirm what state she is in, and if any further financial support is needed”.

Police statement

In a statement to news.com.au, Santa Monica Police Department said officers were called to a “battery” incident at a restaurant on Arizona Ave near Santa Monica’s famous beach.

They had been told a woman, later identified as Ms McCulloch, had thrown a drink at a diner and their two-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.

Local police told news.com.au that it was the responsibility of those arrested to contact loved ones.

“The arrestee is allowed phone calls. Based on what occurred, I am assuming she never called her family to let them know,” a spokesman for Santa Monica PD said.

Laura’s family remain worried about her, noting while she has been found, they do not know “what state she is in”. Picture: Facebook

A poster that went up in LA and was shared widely on social media among family and friends.

“Bubbly and vivacious” Laura moved to LA from New York and has worked as a nanny between acting jobs.

Ms 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.