Retarded Woman, 20, Found at Torrance Church

A mentally retarded woman who had been the object of a widespread search during the 35 hours she was missing was found Wednesday night on the steps of a Catholic church in Torrance.

Edyth (Edy) Jaimes, 20, of Glendale failed to get off a bus while riding with three retarded people in Glendale at noon Tuesday, Glendale Police Officer Mario Yagoda said.

“I guess we’ll never know how she got down here,” said Torrance Police Lt. Mike Tamble. “She appears to be in pretty good shape, but she can’t converse much. She was very hungry though and we’ve been feeding her and the church folks who found her gave her some candy bars, which she wolfed down.”

The woman is said to have the mental capacity of a 3-year-old. She lives with her parents in Glendale and the group of four was going to an independence training program.

“She’s just sitting there looking at you with big, wide eyes and eating away,” said Tamble. He said she was going to be taken to a hospital for mental and physical examinations.