Police identify man found in ditch near Jackson who couldn’t remember his name
Update: Airman apparently fabricated memory loss and ‘kidnapping’ incident, Jackson police say
Original story:
Police have identified a man found with a head injury in a ditch near Jackson who said he could not remember who he was.
The man was found around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday in a ditch near Highway 88 and French Gulch Road in Pine Grove, the Jackson Fire Department said in a Facebook post. The man had suffered a head injury but did not know how he sustained it, the post said.
He was transported to an Amador County hospital for treatment, and upon questioning could still not recall his name. The man had no wallet or identifying information on him, according to the social media post.
The Jackson Police Police announced just before 9:30 a.m. Thursday that it had learned the man’s identity. But authorities did not initially release the man’s name, saying they were working to get him in contact with his family.
The man gave the Jackson Police Department permission to post his photograph online in an effort to have the public assist in identifying him.
On Thursday, Jackson police identified the man as Staff Sgt. Keith Keiffer, 32, an active airman once assigned to Travis Air Force Base near Fairfield. A Facebook profile indicates that Keiffer is from Charleston, West Virginia.
Base spokeswoman Amanda Farr said that Keiffer had previously been assigned to Travis, but was now assigned to the 91st missile wing of Minot Air Force Base in Ward County, North Dakota.
Farr said that Keiffer had been on leave in California at the time of the incident.
The 91st is one of the Air Force’s three intercontinental ballistic missile wings.
“As the case is now being handled by the Jackson Police Department we cannot comment on any part of the investigation,” Farr said.
Detectives say Keiffer is now starting to remember things. He said he may have been involved in a “pretty serious crime” that happened in the Sacramento area, Jackson Police Chief Christopher Mynderup said.
The department has contacted the Sacramento Police Department, and a detective is en route to speak with him, Mynderup said.
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 7:12 AM.
