By Andrea Cavallier -
NBC News
Mystery continues to surround the disappearance of a Los Angeles mother whose trail was lost last month after leaving her son's soccer game.
Heidi Planck, 39, was last seen on October 17, 2021 in the 7800 block of Gardendale Street in Downey, Los Angeles County, according to a statement released by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Security camera footage released by Los Angeles police shows Planck
leaving his home with his dog to attend his son's game
.
Jim Wayne, Planck's ex-husband, with whom he shares custody of their son, told NBC that the woman left the football game during halftime and appeared to be a little "nervous" and "anxious."
Heidi Planck was last seen with her dog before heading to the game, Capture via NBC News
“I was a little restless, yes.
I don't know why, ”Wayne said,“ all I know is that
that was the last time I saw or spoke to her
”.
For the next several days there were no texts or calls from Planck to his son, which Wayne says is extremely rare.
He told his son that his mother would be there to pick him up from school on October 20, which was the next scheduled day for her to assume custody.
Wayne told NBC he
knew something was wrong when the woman didn't show up that day.
"She is a devoted mother who would never, ever leave her son," Wayne said, "we have a 10-year-old boy at home who is looking for his mother and we need to find her."
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Wayne said he filed a missing person report with the Los Angeles police on Oct. 20 and detectives conducted a welfare check on her home.
"The house was in perfect condition," he said, "
but he had left his cell phone and laptops behind
."
Wayne said one of the messages received on Planck's phone was from a woman who had found her dog, which had a chip, and had tried to contact her.
So he discovered that Planck's dog was found, about three hours after being seen for the last time, on the 28th floor of an apartment building in downtown Los Angeles.
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Wayne told NBC that security to access the building was tight and he
doesn't know how the dog got to the 28th floor
.
He added that he also does not know why Planck went there.
Friends and family are concerned about the possibility of a crime, especially the unusual circumstances surrounding Planck's disappearance.
According to local reports, federal agents and Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives searched Planck's home on Friday, but did not provide details of what they found.
Both Wayne and one of Planck's best friends, Danielle Nadolny, said they
are doing their best to keep her name public in the hope that someone with information will come forward.
Planck had blonde hair and light blue eyes Capture via NBC News
"
I just want to know where my friend is
," Nadolny said, adding that Planck's son called her to ask where his mother was: "He needs his mother. We all need her home safely."
Planck's ex-husband is concerned about their son: "He was fine until he saw a picture of both of them the other day and he broke down," she said, "he told me he just wanted to talk to her one more time. It was very painful."
The couple's son turns 11 this week.
"What kid wants to spend his birthday without his mother?" Wayne said, "we just hope for a miracle and for him to come home."
Planck has been described as a 5.3 foot person and weighing 120 pounds.
She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and
was last seen in jeans and a gray
jumpsuit, driving a gray 2017 Range Rover with California license plate U840X0.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Heidi Planck can contact the Missing Persons Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department at (213) 996-1800 or 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527 -3247).
Those who wish to remain anonymous should call the Los Angeles Regional Crime Fighting Office at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or visit www.lacrimestoppers.org.
