Daveigh Chase was living on Skid Row streets before her death at 35

Daveigh Chase, the actress best known for her roles in Lilo & Stitch, The Ring and Donnie Darko, spent the final months of her life living on the streets of Downtown Los Angeles, new video has revealed. The footage, obtained exclusively by The Post, shows Chase looking severely underweight and barely conscious on the floor of a tent on LA's notorious Skid Row. Chase died on 16 June at the age of 35 after contracting meningitis and a blood infection that caused her body to turn septic and shut down.

The search for Chase

Chase's longtime manager John Ryan told The Post he had been searching for her for months alongside her stepsister Gaia Brown, with the help of a private investigator, before being made aware of the video in late 2025.

Ryan said he was able to reach Chase by phone after seeing the footage and had arranged to bring her in for treatment, but she had disappeared again by the time he arrived at Skid Row. He and Brown had planned to nurse her back to health in Los Angeles before transferring her to a rehabilitation facility in Costa Rica owned by a friend.

"We were so close to finding her," Ryan told The Post. "Daveigh was the sweetest and brightest light in Hollywood. I can't believe this is real. Her legacy and work will live on forever."

Hospital admission and cause of death

In the weeks before her death, Chase had been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital due to malnutrition, TMZ reported. She was subsequently diagnosed with meningitis and a blood infection, which together caused her body to become septic. She was 35 years old at the time of her death on 16 June.

GoFundMe dispute

Shortly before her death, a GoFundMe campaign was created in Chase's name by a man identifying himself as her boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, with the stated aim of helping her "find comfort and peace" in her final days. The campaign described Chase as someone who had faced a difficult childhood, a painful falling out with her family, and a prolonged struggle to find safety and stability in Downtown Los Angeles.

"Daveigh Chase, my girlfriend, has always been a light in my life. Many people know her as a talented childhood actor from 'Lilo & Stitch,' 'Spirited Away,' and 'Donnie Darko.' But behind the scenes, she's faced more than her share of hardship," the campaign reads.

"After a difficult childhood and a painful falling out with her family, Daveigh was bullied and struggled to find safety and happiness in downtown LA. When we met, I promised to protect her and give her the love and comfort she deserved. Together, we found moments of happiness and hope."

Ryan, however, disputed the legitimacy of the campaign, telling The Post that neither he nor any of Chase's family had ever heard of the man behind it. "Apparently, a man claiming to be her 'boyfriend' that none of us friends or her family has heard of has set up a GoFundMe on 'her and her families behalf' that he set her up as the organizer. I can confirm Daveigh has a trust account set up at SAG to cover all costs," he said.

Unclaimed residuals

Ryan told The Post that Chase had accumulated millions of dollars in residuals from her work as a child star, but the funds had gone unclaimed because she was "too far gone" on heroin and fentanyl to collect them. With Chase now deceased, those funds would pass to her next of kin — her father, Ryan noted.