Jimmy Fowlie said Wednesday that his sister, Christina Downer, is “no longer alive” and that the family had been told the missing person case had moved to a homicide investigation. Los Angeles police pushed back on that account the same day, saying her disappearance remains classified as suspicious and is being handled by the Robbery-Homicide Division.
Fowlie said in an Instagram post that the family believed Downer’s phone and social media had been compromised in the weeks before she went missing. He said whoever had the phone used it to hide “the fact that she was gone,” ask for money and create the impression that she had skipped town and gone off the grid. “Our prayers for her to be found safely have transformed into prayers for the truth to be revealed and for those responsible to be held accountable,” he wrote.
The family has been searching for Downer for four months. Fowlie had shared a missing person flier in December of 2025, saying she was last seen in Koreatown and that he heard from her on Nov. 26. He wrote that she was active on social media up to Dec. 15, and said detectives had advised the family not to reveal certain details because doing so could compromise the case.
The police response leaves the central question unresolved even as the investigation has sharpened. The LAPD said, “Although the circumstances of her disappearance are suspicious, Ms. Downer has not been located, and her case has not been reclassified as a homicide.” Fowlie, meanwhile, said Downer had no history of mental illness and had never “dropped off” before, and added that he still hoped someone with information would come forward. “My sister can no longer advocate for herself, but I can and I hope you will too,” he wrote.
Anyone with information can call 213-486-6850.