[dropcap size=big]C[/dropcap]loudia Leslie Wells is a registered missing person whose family believes is alive somewhere, homeless since the late 90s. At one point, her daughter Robin Wells Burton was told that perhaps she should consider a memorial ceremony to make peace that her mother may never return. Then in 2014, a sign of hope appeared out of L.A.’s annual homeless count.
“A picture after 20 years,” Burton told L.A. Taco.
The photo, published by the L.A. Times, came shortly after Burton was alerted by a private investigator that her mother’s Social Security number had been used in Santa Monica. During one of her shifts at Ardy & Tiny’s in Illinois, where Burton is a bartender, a regular mentioned the photo and the likeness. She immediately believed the woman seen sitting wrapped in a jacket and beanie was her — Cloudia, her mother.
Burton followed up with the photographer and verified that it had been taken in Santa Monica. There was a ray of hope.