Psychedelic folk singer Linda Perhacs has been found safe after friends, collaborators and the broader music community launched a public appeal earlier this week to locate the artist, whose whereabouts had been unknown for months. Her former manager, Laurel Stearns, confirmed the news in a statement, describing a wave of relief among those who had spent months trying to reach the singer-songwriter.
“We are grateful to share that singer-songwriter Linda Perhacs has been located and is safe,” Stearns said. She added that law enforcement had confirmed the update after friends and members of the music community, unable to establish contact with Perhacs, had filed police reports.
A post shared to the singer’s official Instagram page on Thursday, July 30, reported that the 82-year-old is now in a new care facility. The message thanked supporters, noting that the community had come together to safeguard her well-being.
Months Without Contact
The alarm was raised days earlier. On Tuesday, July 28, Stearns and a group of Perhacs’ friends and collaborators, among them musician Julia Holter, filmmaker Jessica Hundley and dublab co-founder Mark McNeill, issued appeals on social media hoping to find her.
According to Stearns, Perhacs left a residential care facility late last year, about eight months before the public search began, under the supervision of her legal guardian. After several months passed without any word, Stearns grew concerned and reported the singer missing in early June. Authorities could not relay information about Perhacs to anyone lacking a legal tie to her.
Stearns wrote on Instagram that Perhacs had been discharged approximately eight months ago under the supervision of her legal guardian. Asked where the singer had gone missing, Stearns responded cryptically, calling the situation “very involved.”
Stearns said the LAPD investigated the reported disappearance in June, but authorities could only share details about Perhacs’ location with a family member or legal guardian. Perhacs, a California native, had spent the previous eight years in an assisted living facility in California’s San Fernando Valley. Guitarist and record producer Fernando Perdomo posted on social media that Adult Protective Services had become involved in the effort to confirm that Perhacs was safe.
A Community Rallies
The response to the appeal was immediate and widespread. DJ and music producer Mark McNeill assured fans on Thursday that Perhacs had been located in a new facility, thanking supporters for their persistence. Stearns, in her statement, credited the outpouring from fans, fellow musicians, journalists and the creative community, describing it as a reminder of the deep and lasting reach of Perhacs’ music.
Stearns also expressed gratitude to the authorities and to those who had worked quietly behind the scenes to bring resolution. She asked that Perhacs’ privacy be respected as those closest to her decide how best to move forward, adding that she hoped the moment would allow for care, recovery and ongoing support for an artist whose music has resonated with countless listeners.
The Long Road of a Cult Classic
Perhacs occupies a singular place in the history of folk music. She is best known for her 1970 debut, “Parallelograms,” which she made while employed as a dental hygienist. The record received minimal attention when it came out and remained obscure for many years. By the late Nineties, however, it began finding new listeners and eventually developed a passionate following who embraced it as a forgotten gem of psychedelic folk.
Artists from different musical backgrounds helped fuel her unexpected comeback. Nas and Daft Punk brought visibility to her idiosyncratic recordings, exposing her music to younger audiences. Her impact has been acknowledged by numerous respected artists, including Sufjan Stevens, Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart and Julia Holter, the last of whom helped lead this week’s search.
That belated recognition eventually brought Perhacs back to the studio. Stearns was managing the singer when she released her long-awaited second album, “The Soul of All Natural Things,” in 2014, ending a decades-long absence from recording. Three years later, in 2017, she followed it with a third album, "I’m a Harmony."
For now, those close to the singer have emphasized discretion as they determine the best path forward. The concerted effort that unfolded over the past week, spanning collaborators, fans and law enforcement, underscored how far Perhacs’ quiet, otherworldly music has traveled since it first passed largely unnoticed more than half a century ago.