Police respond to Awbury Arboretum as search for missing Philly woman continues

Police searched through an arboretum in the city’s Germantown neighborhood as they continue to investigate the disappearance of a young Philadelphia woman.

Police responded to the Awbury Arboretum on Friday, Oct. 10. About a dozen detectives had gathered at the entrance of the arboretum along the 1100 block of East Washington Lane Friday morning. Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore confirmed the investigation was in relation to the search for 23-year-old Kada Scott.

Vanore did not reveal what specific evidence led police to the arboretum, which was closed amid the investigation.

The search included cadaver dogs and dive teams, but nothing was found, according to police.

Scott was last seen by her family on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, at 9:45 p.m. when she left a home along the 8300 block of Rodney Street in Philadelphia to go to her job at the Terrace at Chestnut Hill, a nursing home on 495 East Abington Avenue.

Police said Scott – who traditionally works overnights – then left her job before her shift ended. While she arrived to work in her car, she didn’t leave in her vehicle, which was found by police in the parking lot of the nursing home.

Police interviewed Scott’s coworkers who didn’t notice any strange behavior prior to her disappearance. Police also said they haven’t seen any cellphone activity from Scott since she went missing.

Family members told police that shortly before her disappearance, Scott had told them she was being harassed by someone through her phone. Police are working to determine who that person is.

Police also said Scott is active on social media but they haven’t seen any activity on her social media accounts since her disappearance. Family members also said Scott does not have a history of disappearing, describing her as an energetic woman.

“What’s troubling about this case is number one, you have a 23-year-old young lady who has completely disappeared,” Philadelphia Police Captain John Craig said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference. “We have no cellphone activity or social media activity and she has not reached out to family or friends.”

Scott’s parents told NBC10 that they are sick to their stomachs over her disappearance.

“Please come home. I’m so scared and I love you and please come home,” Scott’s mother, Kim Matthews, said. “Something is out of place. She would never do something like this so I don’t know what’s going on.”

Matthews said that Scott left with her car keys, iPad, iPhone and iWatch but since her phone was shut off, investigators explained that they can’t track down her location.

Scott is described as a thin Black woman standing 5-foot-6 and weighing 120 pounds with brown eyes and black hair.

If you have any information on Scott’s whereabouts, call Northwest Detectives at 215-686-3353.

Photos of Kada Scott

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