Lindsay Lohan missing after bolting from Morningside rehab
Lindsay Lohan, a cast member in "Scary Movie V," is led down the red carpet at the premiere of the film at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles on April 11, 2013. Credit: AP
Lindsay Lohan's whereabouts were unknown late Thursday after the actress bolted from Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach, Calif., according to multiple reports. Her attorney Mark Heller told a judge at a hearing Thursday morning that she had begun her court-ordered stay there.
Heller told the court, "My client is ensconced in the bosom of that facility right now." But E! News and others reported Lohan arrived at Morningside but did not stay and was last seen in a vehicle headed toward Los Angeles International Airport.
The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday evening that a prosecutor said Lohan was apparently in violation of her probation after spending only a few minutes at Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach.
At Thursday's hearing, Los Angeles prosecutor Terry White objected to the facility, saying he had learned of Lohan's choice only minutes earlier and had believed she was to do her stint at Seafield Center in Westhampton Beach. "We did not approve this facility, we did not look into this facility, we don't know anything about this facility," he said.
Judge James B. Dabney approved Morningside based on a letter Heller gave the court. The judge set a hearing for next Friday to allow prosecutors time to investigate the facility.
Shortly after the hearing, Millicent Tidwell, acting deputy director of licensing and certification for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, told TMZ.com that Morningside was unlicensed and "cannot give any treatment."
Morningside chief executive Mary Helen Beatificato responded in a statement that, "We have successfully treated thousands of patients through our program, many of which have been ordered to us by state and federal courts. Our clinical team is highly specialized in the treatment of substance abuse."
The "Mean Girls" star pleaded no contest March 18 to two misdemeanors in relation to an auto accident last June 8, in which her Porsche collided with an 18-wheel truck.
-- With The Associated Press
