Police search desert for missing sister of SNL writer

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Oct, 22:24 · Archive

Investigators are searching Joshua Tree for Christina Downer, 38, who disappeared from Los Angeles in late 2025.

Police homicide detectives searched the Joshua Tree area of California on Friday for evidence connected to the disappearance of Christina Downer, 38, the sister of Saturday Night Live writer Jimmy Fowlie. Downer disappeared from the Koreatown neighbourhood of Los Angeles in late November 2025 after her family lost contact with her on 26 November. She was reported missing in December.

In April, Fowlie announced to his Instagram followers that police had informed the family his sister was dead and the case had transitioned from a missing-person investigation to a homicide investigation. "The LAPD has informed our family that Christina is no longer alive, and the case has officially transitioned from a missing person to a homicide investigation," he wrote.

The LAPD quickly disputed Fowlie's account. The department said that although the circumstances of Downer's disappearance were suspicious, she had not been located and her case had not been reclassified as a homicide. Detectives from the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division continued the investigation, conducting the Joshua Tree search with canine units.

How it is being reported

• 'SNL' writer's missing sister case leads homicide detectives to Joshua Tree months after family's murder claimLAPD homicide detectives searched Joshua Tree for evidence in the disappearance of Christina Downer, sister of "Saturday Night Live" writer Jimmy Fowlie.Fox News · 9 Oct, 22:07
• Investigators searching California desert for missing sister of ‘SNL’ writerOn Oct. 9, officials announced that they were searching Joshua Tree for the missing sister of SNL writer Jimmy Fowlie, Christina Downer, who was last seen in December of 2025.New York Post · 9 Oct, 17:56

In this story: Christina Downer · Jimmy Fowlie · Saturday Night Live · LAPD · Joshua Tree · Los Angeles · Koreatown

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