Friends Desperately Sought ‘The Ring’ Actress Daveigh Chase on Skid Row
In the months leading up to her death at 35, close friends and family of actress Daveigh Chase, known for her roles in The Ring and Lilo & Stitch, were actively searching for her among the homeless population of Los Angeles. Her manager, John Ryan, and stepsister, Gaia Brown, had been trying to locate the former child star for years after she had seemingly disappeared from public life.
A Frantic Search and Mounting Concerns
Ryan, who managed Chase for over a decade, revealed that in 2025, he and Brown enlisted the help of a private investigator to find the actress. Their primary concern was to ensure Chase received much-needed assistance. Reports indicate that Chase’s death followed a hospitalization for malnutrition. Her boyfriend confirmed her passing on Tuesday, citing a difficult health battle that included meningitis, a blood infection, and sepsis.
Analysis of the situation suggests that by late last year, Ryan had become aware of a social media video, which has since been removed, allegedly showing a severely emaciated Chase living on Los Angeles’s Skid Row. The former Hollywood star appeared alarmingly thin and struggled to stay awake in what seemed to be a makeshift shelter.
Efforts to Provide Aid
Sources close to Chase indicated that friends believed she weighed as little as 75 pounds during this period. Ryan managed to make phone contact with Chase and immediately traveled to Skid Row with the intention of helping her recover. The plan was to get her into a rehabilitation facility in Costa Rica owned by a friend of Ryan’s, once she was well enough to travel.
However, these efforts were tragically cut short. Ryan stated that Chase had “disappeared” by the time he reached Skid Row. Friends continued searching for her in the area for weeks without success.
A Legacy of Performances
Daveigh Chase first gained recognition in 2002 for her haunting portrayal of Samara Morgan in the horror film The Ring. She also lent her voice to the beloved character of Lilo in Disney’s animated classic Lilo & Stitch and its subsequent television series. Her other notable roles included voicing Chihiro Ogino in Hayao Miyazaki’s acclaimed film Spirited Away, appearing as Rhonda Volmer in the series Big Love, and featuring in projects such as Donnie Darko and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Legal Troubles and Final Days
Chase had stepped away from the spotlight in 2013, with her last social media post in 2017. In the intervening years, she reportedly faced multiple arrests for offenses including joyriding in stolen vehicles and drug possession. In a concerning incident in 2017, she was questioned after leaving an unconscious man outside a hospital, who later died of an apparent drug overdose.
Her partner, Roy Hernandez, described their shared experience of homelessness in the years leading up to her death. He had been actively seeking donations through GoFundMe campaigns to fund her medical care in the weeks before she passed. Hernandez stated that Chase had been diagnosed with meningitis and serious blood infections, leading to a critical condition.
Ryan, Chase’s manager, expressed suspicions regarding a GoFundMe campaign initiated by Hernandez, noting that neither Chase’s friends nor family had prior knowledge of him. He confirmed that Chase had a trust account established with SAG to cover any necessary expenses.
Chase was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital in early June. Her condition worsened, and she was pronounced deceased on Tuesday.
