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ByMarthaMendoza The Associated Press SANTA CRUZ The mother of a missing 8-year-old girl pleaded for her safe return Monday as search efforts grew to include federal au- thorities. Madyson Middleton van- ished Sunday afternoon from an artist community and housing center in a Northern California beach town where she lives with her mother. She was last seen rid- ing her new, white scooter in the Tannery Arts Center courtyard, a place where children — both residents and those taking art and dance classes — frequently play. But at about 5 p.m. her mother realized she was gone. Madyson's parents met with investigators Sunday night and again Monday at police headquarters before speaking with reporters outside; her mother Laura Jordan they said they were very worried and wanted Madyson home. "I can't explain how dif- ficult this is," said Jordan, who had searched through the night for her little girl. Jordan said she's looked at surveillance video from their housing complex that watched Madyson's last minutes before she disap- peared. Police have said she was last seen on video sur- veillance at 4:12 p.m. Jordan has walked the edges of the courtyard, and police have twice conducted a door-to-door search of the entire complex, as well as a homeless resource cen- ter and shelter across the street. Beyond the 8-acre property, searchers from throughout the state are now in boats, helicopters, on foot and bike, with dogs and cameras, searching for the girl. The FBI, as well as sheriffs from San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, are assisting. A call to the FBI was not immediately returned. Authorities weren't send- ing volunteers onto ad- jacent hiking and biking trails for fear of disturbing potential evidence, but hun- dreds of volunteers showed up and were looking for her in neighborhoods and streets. "This is our town, and this just shouldn't happen here. We all should do ev- erything we can to find this girl," David Giannini said. Authorities are us- ing dogs to search nearby woods and parks and the San Lorenzo River levee. Helicopters are searching the forest and the coastline, and the U.S. Coast Guard has been scouring the ocean 2 miles from where she was last seen. The 4-foot-tall, 50-pound child has long brown hair, which was pulled to the side in a braid, and dark eyes. She was wearing a purple dress, black leggings, black flip-flops and a black hel- met. She lived with her mother at the Tannery Arts Center, a public-private nonprofit project that includes 100 af- fordable loft apartments for artists and their families, a café, and dance and art stu- dios on eight acres. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Mother pleads for return of missing 8-year-old girl BENMARGOT—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Santa Cruz County Sheriff search and rescue team members search for clues in the disappearance of 8-year- old Madyson Middleton, Monday in Santa Cruz. SANTA CRUZ POLICE DEPARTMENT VIA AP Madyson "Maddy" Middleton By Julie Watson The Associated Press SAN DIEGO A judge on Monday dismissed a law- suit against the state on be- half of three terminally ill Californians seeking doc- tor-prescribed fatal medi- cation. San Diego Superior Court Judge Gregory Pollack said his court is not unsympa- thetic to their plight but lawmakers — not a judge — would need to change the law barring such pre- scriptions. Pollack said in his writ- ten ruling that the current law that makes it a felony to assist a suicide in any way is constitutional and so he does not have the power to suspend its enforcement. "Theunfortunatescenario allegedinthecomplaintcries out for a legislative fix, not a judicial nix, of Penal Code 401," Pollack wrote. A bill seeking such a right fordoctorsstalledearlierthis month in the Legislature. One plaintiff, Christy O'Donnell, a Santa Clarita mom who was given only months to live, said the law- suitlikelywasherlastchance at avoiding a slow, painful death. O'Donnell said she is morphine intolerant. After a hearing Friday, when the judge strongly in- dicated he planned to dis- miss the case, O'Donnell said the likely outcome "saddens me the most be- cause I know there is going to be people watching their wives, their husbands, their children or their moms suf- fer in palliative sedation. "While I am no medi- cal expert, I can tell you with certainty that there is no doctor that can tell you that they can take away all of your pain from every per- son all of the time," she said. Attorneys for the plain- tiffs, who include a San Di- ego doctor, plan to appeal. The lawsuit asked the court to declare the law un- constitutional as applied to doctors who prescribe fa- tal medication for men- tally competent, terminally ill adults to administer to themselves when their suf- fering has become unbear- able. RIGHT-TO-DIE Ju dg e to ss es Ca li fo rn ia l aw su it s ee ki ng f at al d ru gs f or t er mi na ll y il l pa ti en ts By Judy Lin The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Califor- nia announced Monday that the cost of individual health plans will increase about 4 percent for the second straight year, say- ing its strategy to force in- surers to compete on price and value is controlling costs for consumers. The average premium will rise 4 percent in 2016, a slight decrease from the 4.2 percent jump in 2015, said Peter Lee, executive director of Covered Cali- fornia. The average increase in Southern California is 1.8 percent, for a total of $296 a month, compared to 7 percent, or a total of $384 a month, in North- ern California. Southern Californians can get bet- ter rates because the re- gion has more provider competition. The exchange also added two new partici- pants for the first time — UnitedHealthcare, the na- tion's largest health in- surer, and a New York startup called Oscar. Lee said California's 2016 rates are proof that the Affordable Care Act is working in the state. He credited California's ag- gressive approach on hag- gling with insurers. "The health plans know that if they price their products too high and con- sumers know it's too high, because it's an apples-to- apples comparison, they will not get enrollment," Lee said in an interview. The announcement of low rate increases was applauded by consumer groups and health advo- cates. "While any increase in premiums may be hard on family budgets, this rela- tively small jump means California made sound decisions in establishing the structure and powers of the exchange and re- quirement that all plans meet Affordable Care Act standards," said Betsy Im- holz of Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Con- sumer Reports. Larry Levitt of the non- partisan Kaiser Fam- ily Foundation said Cov- ered California appears to be gaining momentum with several major insur- ers jockeying for market share and substantial en- rollment. It's unclear how the rest of the private mar- ket will look yet, he said. "This shows how a sta- ble, competitive individ- ual insurance market can work," Levitt said. One of the main goals of President Barack Obama's health overhaul was to slow increases in health care costs and premiums. HEALTH CARE Covered California: Cost of coverage increasing You'regettingbetter, faster, and stronger. We're proud to support you. 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