Teacher Found In ICU After Vanishing On Train

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A Van Nuys teacher who vanished on a train was in the intensive care unit Tuesday night after she was reportedly found unconscious in the street, a friend said.

Ciara O'Rourke vanished Monday night while riding the Metro, according to her friend Ashley Phillips, who was with her on the train.

Phillips said the 34-year-old special needs teacher at Hazeltine Elementary had spent the day downtown with friends.

The group took the train back to the Universal City stop around midnight, but when it was time to get off, O'Rourke was gone.

"She went to the back of the train and she just sat down, and we didn't see her get off or anything like that," said Phillips.

The friends reportedly waited, wondering if she had gotten off at another stop. But friends and family grew worried when calls to O'Rourke went unanswered the next day.

Hilda O'Rourke, the victim's mother, said it was not like her daughter to just disappear.

"She wouldn't really take off and go missing," she said. "She's very responsible."

Her family called local hospitals and filed a police report Tuesday.

Tuesday night, word came from Phillips that O'Rourke had been found in an intensive care unit after being found unconscious in the street.

She is now conscious and remains in the hospital.

Police said they had no additional information Tuesday.