'Lilo & Stitch' actress Daveigh Chase was missing for over 10 years before her death: Manager

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Daveigh Chase's death has left a huge void in Hollywood, with new revelations continuing to shed light on the difficult circumstances she reportedly faced. 

Now, her former manager, John Ryan Jr, has revealed that the actress disappeared in 2015, more than 10 years ago. Ryan said he realized the 'Lilo & Stitch' actress was missing after she failed to show up for a meeting with Rob Reiner.

Remembering the actress, Ryan said, "She was the sweetest girl on the planet. The greatest celebrity I ever had the chance to work with. She was just so kind."

Daveigh Chase went missing from loved ones years before her death

More than a decade before her death at 35, Chase mysteriously vanished from the lives of those closest to her, according to her former manager. 

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Ryan recalled becoming alarmed in 2015 after the actress failed to attend a meeting with filmmaker Reiner and suddenly stopped communicating with friends and family.

"Rob Reiner had called us and had a role for her, and she never showed up," Ryan recalled. "He said, 'I've got a role I want to talk to her about - have her come in!' And then when we followed up the next day with him, like, 'Hey, how did (the meeting) go?' They were like, 'She never showed.' And then we were like, 'Okay, something's up.'"

Ryan said Chase had lost her phone around that time, leaving those close to her with no way to contact her. The situation was especially concerning because she had been staying with Ryan and his wife, leaving behind many of her belongings. 

"She was staying with us a lot, my wife and I, so we had her passport, and we had her clothes," he said. "At first, I thought she was kidnapped or something, and then we started putting two and two together."

While Chase had disappeared for short periods in the past, Ryan said her sudden decision to cut off contact with her entire circle at once raised serious concerns. However, because of her history of vanishing for weeks at a time before resurfacing, friends believed she would eventually return and never filed a formal missing persons report.

Daveigh Chase's former manager says search intensified after disturbing Skid Row sighting

Around five years ago, Ryan said he "started hearing some bad stuff" about Chase, and six months ago, he received a video that allegedly showed her in Los Angeles' Skid Row. "I ran down there, and by the time I went down there, she had already left," Ryan recalled. "We've been looking for her ever since. We've had private eyes on it."

The former manager said he had deliberately kept Chase's disappearance out of the public eye for years because he believed it was not his story to share and hoped she would eventually come back. 

"We had hopes she'd come back, and everyone would've just assumed she's been retired these last 10 years."

However, Ryan said the situation changed after he learned more about her circumstances. "But once I started hearing things like Skid Row and all that, then it was like, 'Okay, now we're calling all cars.'" 

He added, "Once I got video of her, and how bad she looked, I said, 'We need to bring the public in on this. I don't want to protect the brand anymore. I want to protect the girl.'"