Orange : Retarded Woman Back Home After ‘Wandering’
A mentally retarded woman who disappeared over the weekend was back home Monday after she was found at a Santa Ana treatment center for mental patients, police said.
Venus Rochelle Thomas, 19, who had been reported missing after she failed to return from the grocery store on Saturday, was reported in good condition when she was reunited with her family at the Emergency Triage Service Center in Santa Ana, Orange Police Officer Bob Gustafson said.
Thomas, who was taken to the center after being found wandering in Newport Beach, did not appear to have been molested, Gustafson said.
Newport Beach police said they picked up Thomas after she was seen “wandering” in the streets Sunday morning. She was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and subsequently to the center, which provides treatment for developmentally disabled people, Gustafson said.
An employee at the center, who had heard news of the missing woman, including a physical description, called police.
Relatives said that Thomas has the mental capacity of a 9-year-old.
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