Police identify missing California woman with amnesia found in Davis home’s backyard
A phone call led a police detective to the family of a missing Southern California woman who was found in Davis nearly six weeks ago suffering from a severe case of amnesia.
The woman on Friday remained in good condition under the care of medical professionals, said Davis Deputy Police Chief Paul Doroshov.
The 46-year-old woman had been reported as missing from the Los Angeles area, Doroshov said, and it remained unclear how she wound up in Northern California. But he said there was no indication that a crime had led to her disappearance or her medical condition.
Because there was no evidence a crime occurred, Doroshov said the Police Department was not going to release her name or information about where exactly she was living in Southern California. He said it also will be up to the medical professionals caring for her to decide when to reunite her with her family.
Last month, the Davis Police Department had asked the public for any information about the woman’s identity. She was found May 30, when a resident in the 3400 block of Seabright Avenue reported seeing her wander into his backyard.
She was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where it was determined she might be suffering from a severe case of amnesia. She was hospitalized and Davis police were called in to investigate.
She did not have any apparent injuries and she appeared to be in good physical health. Police officials said the woman could not remember her identity and appeared confused.
Investigators followed up on numerous leads and searched through fingerprint and online databases without any success. The Police Department on June 24 released a photo of her, hoping someone would recognize her.
The Police Department also considered the possibility of submitting the woman’s DNA to a genealogy database as investigators sifted through tips from the public and searched for other ways to identify her.
Doroshov said the Police Department eventually received a call on Friday with information that led a detective to find her family and confirm her identity.
“We’re just happy that we were able to help reunite her with her family,” Doroshov told The Sacramento Bee on Friday.
This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 5:00 PM.
