RIVERSIDE, CA — Riverside police are asking the public for help locating Jeslyn Isabelle Manzano, a 23-year-old pregnant woman who was last seen near Rutland Avenue and Penny Lane at approximately 1:40 p.m. Sunday and is believed to be experiencing a mental health crisis, according to a critical missing person alert issued by the Riverside Police Department.
The department designated Manzano a critical missing person, a classification that under California law triggers immediate transmission of her case to state databases and requires officers to issue a local Be On The Lookout bulletin without delay. Manzano is pregnant and has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, borderline personality disorder, and depression — conditions that police say make her disappearance especially urgent. Investigators stated they believe she is currently in the middle of a psychiatric episode, raising concerns for both her safety and the safety of her unborn child. No additional details about how far along she is in her pregnancy were included in the department’s alert.
According to the Riverside Police Department’s public alert, Manzano stands 5 feet 1 inch tall, weighs approximately 140 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black short-sleeve shirt, black jogger pants, pink Crocs, and gray headphones. Investigators noted that she frequently visits two nearby locations: Rutland Park, situated at 6449 Rutland Avenue in the Arlanza neighborhood, and the 7-Eleven convenience store at 6970 Van Buren Boulevard near Jurupa Avenue. Police said those spots are considered priority areas in the search. The department issued the alert publicly and urged anyone who spots Manzano or has information about her whereabouts to call the Riverside Police Department Public Safety Communications Center at 951-354-2007, referencing either her name or report number 260025903.
Under California Penal Code Section 14211, law enforcement agencies are required to accept missing person reports without delay and must transmit cases involving at-risk individuals to state databases within two hours of receiving a report. For cases meeting certain criteria — including danger due to a mental or physical disability or health condition — California’s Endangered Missing Advisory framework, administered through the California Highway Patrol, provides an additional alert mechanism beyond local bulletins. The California Department of Justice separately maintains a statewide system for tracking missing adults. Manzano’s classification as a critical missing person means her case falls within those elevated-risk provisions, triggering a faster and broader law enforcement response than a standard missing person report would receive. Whether an Endangered Missing Advisory was sought in her case had not been confirmed by authorities as of the time of this report.
Manzano’s disappearance is one of several cases in the broader Southern California region in which police have sought public assistance in locating individuals with significant health vulnerabilities. The Riverside area has seen a pattern of at-risk missing person cases in recent months, with the Long Beach Police Department separately listing multiple at-risk missing individuals during the same period — several of whom were ultimately located safe and returned to care facilities. In each of those cases, rapid public notification and community tips played a role in resolving the searches. Mental health advocates and law enforcement officials have long emphasized that individuals experiencing acute psychiatric episodes, particularly those who are also medically vulnerable due to pregnancy, face compounded risks when they go missing, including exposure to environmental hazards, difficulty communicating their needs, and vulnerability to harm.
The Riverside Police Department did not release information about Manzano’s family members or indicate whether any relatives had filed the missing person report. It was not immediately clear how long she had been out of contact before the report was made or whether she had any prior history of missing person incidents. The department’s alert did not indicate that any foul play is suspected in her disappearance. Investigators have not named any persons of interest. The focus of the search, according to police, is on the area surrounding Rutland Avenue, Penny Lane, Rutland Park, and the Van Buren Boulevard corridor — all locations within a relatively contained section of western Riverside where Manzano is known to spend time. Authorities have not publicly confirmed how many officers or units have been assigned to the search effort.
“Jeslyn is currently pregnant and diagnosed schizoaffective, borderline personality disorder and depression,” the Riverside Police Department stated in its public alert. “It is believed she is currently having an episode.” That language — straightforward and clinical — reflects a department effort to convey the immediacy of the situation to the public without minimizing the medical complexity of Manzano’s condition. Schizoaffective disorder, one of her listed diagnoses, is a chronic mental health condition that combines features of schizophrenia — such as hallucinations or disorganized thinking — with mood disorder symptoms. Individuals experiencing an active episode may have difficulty recognizing danger, navigating familiar environments, or seeking help on their own, according to general clinical descriptions of the condition.
As of Sunday evening, Manzano had not been located, and the Riverside Police Department’s alert remained active. Anyone who sees her or has information about her current location is urged to contact the department’s Public Safety Communications Center at 951-354-2007 and reference report No. 260025903. The next immediate milestone in the investigation is her location and safe return, with officers continuing to canvas the Rutland Avenue area and the nearby businesses and park where she is known to spend time.
