Paula Lopez, the KEYT anchor who returned to air in early April after her February disappearance sparked a police manhunt, is mysteriously off the air again.

According to station monitoring site TVEyes, Lopez worked the 6:30 p.m news on April 18, but was absent from the 11:00 p.m. show. Her co-anchor C.J. Ward told viewers Lopez had the night off. She hasn’t been on air since.

“I can tell you that KEYT and NPG continue to wish Paula well,” KEYT general manager Mark Danielson told Santa Barbara’s Noozhawk after saying he could not comment on an employee’s health or personnel issues. “I don’t have any information on when Paula might be able to return to work,” he added. Read more

Paula Lopez, the anchor for Santa Barbara ABC affiliate KEYT who went missing in February, will be back on-air tonight.

“We’re thrilled Paula is now able to come back to work,” Jim Lemon, KEYT news director told the San Luis Obispo Tribune. “As a veteran member of the team at NewsChannel 3, it’s good to have her back where she belongs, anchoring and reporting the news up and down the coast.”

Lopez returned home nearly eight hours after being reported missing by concerned family members. Relatives blamed an unnamed medical condition on her disappearance.

She posted the news to twitter over the weekend saying, “Happy to be back on @KEYTNC3 in 48 hours!”

[FTVLive]

The family of Paula Lopez, the KEYT anchor who was reported missing Wednesday morning and found later in the evening, is declining to elaborate on the details of her return. Lopez is married to a Superior Court judge and is a “longtime fixture in the community,” according to the Los Angeles Times:

Her family alerted the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office that she was gone, triggering a response by deputies who used search dogs as they scoured the area. The rapid response raised questions about whether the family received favorable treatment. Often, law enforcement authorities wait 24 hours before declaring a person missing and launching search efforts.

News footage showed Lopez’s husband, Frank Ochoa, arriving at the home Wednesday night in his gray Lexus with what appeared to be a woman in the passenger’s seat. The family contacted the Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday about 5:30 p.m. to say that Lopez was safe at home, KEYT-TV said on its website.

“Paula has been located,” a spokesman for the family told reporters gathered outside the home Wednesday night. “We’re not giving out any details right now.”

The Santa Barbara County sheriff’s office also declined to comment “due to the fact it is a private family matter.”

> Update, 9:50pmET: Lopez’s family alerted KEYT that Lopez had returned home around 6:30pmPT and is safe.

> Original story: Paula Lopez an anchor at KEYT the ABC affiliate in Santa Barbara, has gone missing.

A family member alerted the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office of her disappearance around 10 this morning. Lopez was last seen near her home in the hills above Santa Barbara. Lopez’s disappearance made news on all the Santa Barbara stations as well as in Fresno, Palm Springs and on Los Angeles stations. Lopez worked in the LA market in the 1990s. Authorities do not suspect foul play.

Lopez, who is married to Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Frank J. Ochoa, began her career at KEYT in 1985, as an intern. She returned to the station in 1996. Currently she anchors the 6:30 and 11pm newscasts.

KEYT General Manager Mark Danielson released the following statement:

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