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In the days following her passing, Chase's former manager and close friend, Hollywood producer John Ryan Jr., shared details about her life, career, and the years-long effort to locate her after she largely disappeared from public view.
Cause of Death
According to reports, Chase died from complications related to meningitis and a severe bloodstream infection.
Meningitis is a serious inflammation of the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The infection reportedly progressed into sepsis, a life-threatening condition in which the body's response to infection causes widespread damage to tissues and organs.
Medical sources indicated that Chase had been hospitalized in Los Angeles earlier in June 2026. She was reportedly suffering from severe malnutrition, a condition that can significantly weaken the immune system and reduce the body's ability to fight infections.
The combination of meningitis, sepsis, and organ failure ultimately proved fatal.
A Troubled Final Chapter
Hours before Chase's death, a GoFundMe campaign was launched by a man identified as Roy Hernandez, who claimed to be her boyfriend. In the fundraising appeal, Hernandez stated that Chase was critically ill and facing serious personal hardships.
The campaign quickly became controversial after Chase's family members and longtime manager publicly questioned Hernandez's connection to the actress. They stated that they did not know him and urged people not to donate, explaining that Chase had sufficient financial resources available through a SAG trust account to cover medical expenses.
The dispute brought renewed attention to Chase's private struggles in recent years, including reports that she experienced periods of homelessness and declining health.
A Career That Defined a Generation
Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, Daveigh Chase began acting as a child and quickly established herself as one of Hollywood's most versatile young performers.
Her breakthrough came in 2002 when she voiced Lilo Pelekai in Disney's animated hit Lilo & Stitch. The role earned widespread praise and made Chase a beloved figure among young audiences. She continued voicing Lilo throughout the franchise, including:
• Stitch! The Movie (2003)
• Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005)
• Leroy & Stitch (2006)
• The Lilo & Stitch television series
Her performance earned her an Annie Award in 2003.
That same year, Chase demonstrated her remarkable range by starring as Samara Morgan in the horror blockbuster The Ring. Her unsettling portrayal of the supernatural child villain became one of the most memorable horror performances of the decade and earned her the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
She also provided the English-language voice of Chihiro in Studio Ghibli's Oscar-winning masterpiece Spirited Away, introducing her voice to audiences around the world.
Other notable film roles included:
• Samantha Darko in Donnie Darko (2001)
• The lead role in S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale (2009)
• Jack Goes Home (2016)
• American Romance (2016)
Success on Television
Chase successfully transitioned from child acting into television drama.
One of her most acclaimed performances came in HBO's Big Love, where she portrayed Rhonda Volmer across 32 episodes between 2006 and 2011. Her character, a manipulative teenager raised within a polygamist community, showcased her dramatic abilities and earned praise from critics.
She also appeared as a regular cast member in the Fox sitcom Oliver Beene and voiced the lead character in the children's animated series Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures.
Throughout her career, Chase made guest appearances on numerous popular television shows, including:
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch
• Charmed
• ER
• The Practice
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
• Cold Case
A Friend Remembers
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, producer John Ryan Jr. described Chase as more than a client.
"We all kind of looked out for her," Ryan recalled, explaining that he first met Chase in the mid-2000s when she frequently visited a Los Angeles nightclub he owned.
According to Ryan, Chase had experienced a difficult childhood and often relied on a close circle of friends for support. Eventually, she asked Ryan and his associates to help manage her career.
"She was one of my best friends," Ryan said. "We just kind of managed her, without even taking commission, just make sure little sister was safe."
Ryan said Chase was receiving offers for major Hollywood projects in the final years of her acting career but preferred independent films.
"She really just wanted to get back to her Donnie Darko roots and do more indie, Sundance-y stuff," he explained.
The Mysterious Disappearance
Ryan said the last time he saw Chase in person was in November 2015.
Around that time, director Rob Reiner reportedly wanted to meet with Chase regarding a role. According to Ryan, Chase never arrived for the meeting.
"She never showed," Ryan recalled. "And then we were like, 'Okay, something's up.'"
Soon afterward, Chase stopped communicating with nearly everyone in her life.
Friends and family initially believed she would eventually reappear because she had a history of withdrawing from public life for weeks or months at a time.
Ryan described her as intensely private and uninterested in Hollywood culture.
"She was very private and not Hollywood," he said. "It wouldn't be surprising if she didn't leave her house for five months and just watched movies with her cats."
Because of that history, no formal missing person report was filed.
Years of Searching
As the years passed, occasional reports surfaced suggesting that Chase had been seen in various parts of California.
Some sightings were linked to incidents that generated media attention, including reports of her arrest while riding in a stolen vehicle in 2017 and a separate police investigation later that year.
Ryan said concern intensified several years ago when troubling reports about Chase's condition began reaching her family and friends.
Approximately six months before her death, he received video footage that allegedly showed Chase in Los Angeles' Skid Row district.
"I ran down there," Ryan said. "By the time I went down there, she had already left."
According to Ryan, private investigators were hired and efforts to locate her intensified.
The Planned Documentary
Before Chase's death, Ryan was developing a documentary tentatively titled Finding Lilo.
The project was intended to raise awareness about Chase's disappearance and encourage public assistance in locating her.
Ryan explained that he had previously avoided discussing her situation publicly because he wanted to respect her privacy.
"I didn't think it's my story to tell," he said. "I didn't want to put my little sister on blast."
However, after seeing evidence suggesting her condition had worsened significantly, he decided public involvement was necessary.
"I don't want to protect the brand anymore. I want to protect the girl," Ryan said.
Following her death, the project is expected to shift focus toward celebrating her life and career.
Remembering Daveigh Chase
Despite the hardships she faced in later years, friends remember Chase as a kind, talented, and deeply unique person.
Ryan described her as "the sweetest girl on the planet" and "the greatest celebrity" he ever worked with.
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Celebrity Death
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