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Huntington Park Resident Maggie Castellanos Honored with 25,000 Dollar Reward for Finding Missing Woman
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A local resident’s sharp intuition has turned a terrifying situation into a story of community triumph. Maggie Castellanos was presented with a 25,000 dollar reward on Tuesday for her pivotal role in locating Jeanne Litvin, a 78-year-old woman with dementia who had been missing for over a week.
The recognition ceremony, hosted by the volunteer emergency response organization Hatzolah of Los Angeles, highlighted the critical impact that a single watchful neighbor can have in an emergency.
A Disorienting Walk Across the City
The ordeal began on the morning of April 15, 2026, when Litvin’s husband, Mel Teitelbaum, realized his wife had wandered away from their home near The Grove in Los Angeles. Litvin lives with primary progressive aphasia, a form of dementia that strips away a person's ability to communicate or understand speech, making it impossible for her to ask for directions or call for help.
A massive search effort was launched immediately. While volunteers combed the streets, Litvin had actually boarded a bus, eventually ending up nearly 15 miles away in Huntington Park.
Alert Resident Calls for Help
Two days after the disappearance, Maggie Castellanos noticed something unusual on her home security camera. An elderly woman was in her front yard, seemingly trying to clean up the area. While the sight might have seemed ordinary to some, Castellanos sensed a problem when she went outside to talk to the woman.
"I asked her if she was OK, if she was lost. She wasn't coherent," Castellanos recalled.
At the time, Castellanos had no idea that a city-wide search was underway or that the woman had been missing for 48 hours. She contacted the police, and Litvin was transported to a local hospital. Because Litvin was unable to identify herself, it took another week for hospital staff to confirm her identity and finally reunite her with her family.
Reward for a Selfless Act
The search for Litvin officially ended after 10 days of uncertainty. To thank Castellanos for her life-saving intervention, Hatzolah of Los Angeles presented her with the reward funds they had set aside for the search.
For Castellanos, the 25,000 dollar check was an unexpected surprise for something she considered a moral obligation.
"I wasn't expecting that at all," Castellanos said during the ceremony. "It's our civic duty to help other people."
Teitelbaum expressed profound relief that his wife was found safe, noting that his fears grew every day she remained missing. Thanks to the alertness of a neighbor 15 miles away, Litvin is now recovering and back with her loved ones.
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By: CNN Newsource
May 7, 2026
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