Anchor home after missing person scare

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Officials said Paula Lopez, a TV news anchorwoman in Santa Barbara, Calif., was safe at home after a missing persons scare.

Lopez, who anchors for ABC News affiliate KEYT, was back home at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said.

Lopez's family had called authorities at 10 a.m. Wednesday to say the 48-year-old was missing, the sheriff's department said.

"The last time her family talked to her was at 9:30 a.m. She has not been seen or heard from since. No foul play is suspected but her family is concerned about her welfare," an earlier statement from the sheriff's office said.

It's not known why her family reported her missing after seeing her just a half hour earlier, and the sheriff's department said they will not comment on why Lopez went missing.

The search involved K-9 units and a Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit helicopter, the sheriff's department said.