VENTURA : City Worker Finds Missing Man, 30

A mentally disabled man who had been missing from his Ventura home for more than 40 hours was found Wednesday behind City Hall after he spent two nights in the hills nearby without food and medication.

Anthony (Tony) Skinner, 30, who lives several blocks from City Hall in an apartment building on South Palm Street managed by the Assn. for Retarded Citizens, was found early Wednesday by a city employee. Skinner, who police said has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old, was reported missing at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Skinner went to City Hall with a friend Monday to buy a bus pass, said John Stack, program manager for Training for Independent Living, a program that assists residents of the apartment building.

Skinner, who became separated from his friend, went without needed medication while he was missing, officials said.

At 7 a.m. Wednesday, he approached a city employee, told him who he was and asked to purchase a bus pass, Stack said.

The employee recognized him from a police description and notified authorities.

Stack said Skinner has wandered off many times before, but this was the first time that he did not call home.