Handicapped Man Vanishes at Disneyland, Is Found Safe

A mentally handicapped man who disappeared on a weekend visit to Disneyland was found unharmed Sunday, walking along a street on Balboa Island, authorities said.

Alfonso Navaretti, 52, of Santa Maria was last seen about 5 p.m. Saturday entering a restroom next to the Alice in Wonderland attraction in Fantasyland, Anaheim Police Lt. Vince Howard said. Navaretti was visiting the amusement park with a tour group of about 30 other mentally handicapped people from Santa Maria, which is north of Santa Barbara.

An all-night search of the theme park and surrounding neighborhoods by Disneyland security and Anaheim police failed to turn up Navaretti or any clues as to his whereabouts, Howard said.

“We had been told that he liked to walk, so we expanded our search to include some of the areas around the park, thinking that he may have left the park on his own” Howard said. “But we came up empty.”

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Navaretti’s description was sent to other law enforcement agencies in the county.

About 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Newport Beach patrol officers spotted the middle-aged man calmly walking in the 500 block of Balboa Boulevard. He was taken to the Newport Beach Police Station, where Anaheim officers picked up him.

He was reunited with his group, a Santa Barbara-based organization called New Directions, which puts together tours for the handicapped, and they returned to Santa Maria on Sunday afternoon, police said.

Because Navaretti has the mental capacity of a child and can only respond to simple questions with yes or no answers, Howard said, investigators were unable to determine how Navaretti got from Anaheim to Newport Beach.

“There was just no way to interview him,” Howard said. “The important thing was he was not hurt and seemed in good spirits.”