Editor’s note: Sara Gene Keene was found on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 by the San Francisco Police Department. Read more here.
MENDOCINO CO., 1/19/26 – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to search this week for a missing Philo teen whose car was last seen in San Francisco.
Sara Gene Keene, 17, was last seen leaving her foster parents’ home in Philo around 11 a.m. Jan. 2. Her vehicle, a white 2013 Acura TSX four-door sedan with California license plate 9UYY222, was detected by automatic license plate readers in San Francisco the same day, according to the sheriff’s office.
Keene is described as 4 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 115 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. The 17-year-old was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, and black tennis shoes.
The 17-year-old’s foster parent told authorities that the teenager had expressed an interest in visiting a friend who lives in San Francisco, but her parents told her not to go. The foster parent said that shortly after Keene left home, she turned off the location on her cell phone. Her parents have not been able to track her, and Keene has not contacted them.
The sheriff’s office has issued a Be On the Lookout alert to law enforcement agencies in San Francisco and surrounding Bay Area counties, according to Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Capt. Quincy Cromer. The office has also entered Keene’s information into the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System as a missing juvenile.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has been in communication with the San Francisco Police Department on the case. SFPD checked the possible address of Keene’s friend in San Francisco on Jan. 9, but police were not able to locate Keene, her friend, or the vehicle.
Anyone with information on Keene’s disappearance should contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office by calling (707) 463-4086.
This hurts my heart. I hope she is found, and is alright. At that age i don’t think she should be brought back… i was ready to be out in the world then, hopefully she is… If she’s not, it’s a little late to do anything about?! I’m sorry for anybody that cares about her and is worried… (don’t know her, but i am a little, sigh…)