The family of Katherine Kerwood, a 21-year-old woman from the UK who landed at SFO for a solo tour of Northern California last Tuesday, are searching for her whereabouts after her phone went silent Friday and they learned she never checked into her hostel when she landed.

Twenty-one-year-old British tourist Katherine Esther Gamboa Kerwood landed in San Francisco for a week-long solo sightseeing tour of Northern California last Tuesday with plans to travel to Sacramento upon landing.

As KTVU reports, her family said she called them when she arrived at SFO and said she’d be checking into a hostel in Sacramento that day. During her week-long visit, Kerwood had plans to visit Sacramento, Calaveras Big Trees State Park, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz.

The next time Kerwood’s family heard from her was Friday when they received a text saying she was still staying at the hostel. Family friend Ali Zaidi told KTVU that immediately following the text, Kerwood’s family asked to speak to her on the phone — as she’s normally very communicative, and there was no further response. They later discovered she never checked into the hostel.

"She's generally very responsive and the fact that she didn't message for hours is the first signal," Zaidi said. "Second, when she messaged they said, 'Hey, let's get on the phone,' and immediately she didn't respond."

Security footage from SFO showed Kerwood meeting a man there who brought her flowers. Her family later discovered the man’s name is “David,” whom they learned Kerwood had previously met in the UK. Kerwood is reportedly scheduled to return to London Wednesday.

According to KTVU, the case is being investigated by both the San Francisco Police Department and authorities in the United Kingdom. Authorities across California have also been alerted via a statewide law enforcement database.

Image: Inside of San Francisco International airport, International Terminal, San Francisco, California, June 7, 2023. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)