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A Palo Alto woman who made national headlines when she verbally assaulted a man wearing a Make America Great Again hat on April 1, has been located after she was reported missing on Friday, April 19.

Lake County Sheriff Lt. Corey Paulich said on Tuesday that a missing persons bulletin for Rebecca Parker Mankey, 46, has been taken down.

“She made contact with her family this morning,” he said, adding that she is safe.

Mankey has received multiple death threats and been harassed since April 1, she told the Weekly before her disappearance.

She sparked widespread outrage after posting photographs and a diatribe against the 74-year-old Palo Alto MAGA-hat-wearing man, who later identified himself as Victor. She said she had confronted him in a Starbucks on California Avenue for wearing the hat. She called upon the public to identify him so she could continue her confrontation wherever he worked, at his home or to identify his family because of his perceived support of President Donald Trump.

Furious conservatives posted her remarks on social media and instead “doxed” her, posting her private information. They contacted Mankey’s and her husband’s employers to demand their dismissal and repeatedly called her at home.

Mankey lost her job at Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto soon after news went viral about her confrontation with the 74-year-old man.

According to news reports from local outlets, Mankey had been visiting a friend in Lake County; she reportedly left Lake County on Thursday but didn’t return home.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued a bulletin last Friday after Mankey was reported missing by her husband. She was believed to be in the area of Aberdeen, Washington, as of 9 a.m. last Friday.

The Aberdeen Police Department also issued a missing-person bulletin seeking help from the public in finding Mankey.

“The Lake County Sheriff’s office said her cellphone pinged in this area. Her family said they are not aware that she has any connections here,” he said.

Friends of Mankey put out alerts on Facebook about her disappearance. “I last saw her when she was leaving Lake County to head home yesterday,” Melissa Demyan wrote Friday. She said that it had been over 24 hours “since anyone has seen or heard from her.”

Mark Van Landuyt wrote on Facebook that Mankey “is a dear friend and a special human being — she is important to many people’s lives.”

Sue Dremann is a veteran journalist who joined the Palo Alto Weekly in 2001. She is an award-winning breaking news and general assignment reporter who also covers the regional environmental, health and...

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6 Comments

  1. I feel that she was wrong in calling out a man she doesn’t know for wearing the MAGA hat. It may or may not mean a trump supporter. Trump supporters have a right to their beliefs, too. It may be that this particular individual was wearing it because he liked it? To make a big deal out of a “symbolic” hat with no conversation with said gentleman is a big no no. I also feel that the consequences she has received outweigh the offense. But that is the way it is now with the social media being the best place for pissed off folks to get a kind of “revenge”, and so she has to reconsider the wisdom of her action. Sorry for everyone all the way around in this situation. We should always talk first and think before we post.

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