Plight of ‘Retarded, Abandoned’ Woman Was a Ruse

A woman whom police, psychiatrists and social workers believed was severely retarded and physically disabled appears to have feigned at least some of her disabilities, officials said Tuesday.

On Jan. 23, the woman was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center from the Greyhound bus station in downtown San Diego after she appeared to have suffered a seizure. Because she did not have identification, she was transferred to the care of county health officials the following day, said Patrick Stalnaker, a spokesman for the county’s mental health services.

The woman was identified Monday as Sandra Lynn Bast, 35, said Bill Robinson, spokesman for the San Diego Police Department. Other details are vague, as officials try to piece together her history.

Stalnaker said that at first the woman appeared to be unable to talk, walk or care for herself. But her initial grunts and groans evolved into sign language. She was in a wheelchair, but then progressed to a walker. Finally she was walking by herself. Bast was reportedly playing volleyball Monday.

Stalnaker said that the woman appears to have a minor mental disorder but is not physically impaired.

Robinson said that at first police believed that Bast had been dumped at the station by someone who was unable to care for her. But it’s also possible that she arrived by bus. She had in her possession cash, some stuffed animals, a flight bag and a suitcase. Some of the things in her bags were labeled by Revco, a chain of drugstores with no outlets in California. As information about the woman spread, police received calls from as far away as New Jersey, Michigan and Canada. One call from Michigan turned out to be from Bast’s relatives, he said.

Stalnaker said that the family informed officials that Bast had a history of traveling to different cities and pretending to be retarded to get medical care.

“Apparently she’s been doing this for about 18 years,” he said.

Before her arrival in San Diego, Bast was at a voluntary care facility in either Texas or Arizona, Stalnaker said.

Bast admitted the ruse when social workers confronted her with the information supplied by her relatives, Stalnaker said. “She started talking and talking and talking.”

Though Bast is able to function normally, Stalnaker said, she does require some kind of care. “I wouldn’t say that she is somebody who can hold down a job, or anything like that.”

Stalnaker said he did not know if the woman had ever been in an involuntary care facility. “It may be that she is better now than she was 10 years ago,” he said. Someone could have once been legally responsible for her, he said. But now no one is.

Because she did not have any identification, a court order was needed to place her under the care of the county, Stalnaker said. That order will expire by the end of this week.

Stalnaker said the county will try to get Bast into “some kind of care facility.” But, he said, she does not have to accept anything the county offers. She is on her own, he said.

Stalnaker said Bast is receiving federal assistance through the Supplemental Security Income program. He said the county will try to recoup some of its expenses from the federal program. He said the costs incurred could go “into the several thousands.”

Neither Stalnaker nor Robinson said they would classify Bast as a “con artist.” Stalnaker said: “We look at her as somebody who needs help. A con artist is someone who acts with malice aforethought.”

He said Bast was not trying to hurt anyone. “I think she was trying to protect herself.”