UPDATE: Lopez returned home around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, according to KEYT.
A news anchor in Santa Barbara, Calif., was reported missing this morning.
Paula Lopez, who co-anchors the 11 p.m. news for KEYT-TV, has gone missing according to a statement post on the station's website by Mark Danielson, the station's general manager.
"This morning we learned that a beloved member of the KEYT family, Paula Lopez has gone missing," the statement read. "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. It is clearly a difficult time for her family and our own family at KEYT. All of us at KEYT stand ready to assist in any way we can. For now, on behalf of KEYT and NPG of California 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."
Santa Barbara Sheriff's deputies said that Lopez, 48, called in sick to work last night.
In response to a call from a worried relative, officials went to her house to search for her, according to Newsbreaker
She was reported missing at 10 a.m. but no foul play is suspected, KTLA-TV reported via Twitter. K-9 units and helicopters are searching the area.
Lopez is 5-foot-2 and was last seen wearing a black sweat suit and sneakers, according to the sheriff's office.
Lopez started her news career at KEYT in 1985 as an intern, and quickly rose to an anchor position, according to her station biography. She spent six years working in Los Angeles for KCAL-TV starting in 1990 before moving back to the Santa Barbara station permanently.
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