POMONA : Memory-Loss Victim Found in Ditch Identified

A young man who told Pomona police that he woke up in a ditch along the San Bernardino Freeway with a near-total loss of memory a week ago has been identified as James Belmore, 22, who has been missing from his home in Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario, Canada, since Nov. 4.

Pomona Police Department jailers Joe Perez and Evelyn Kimbro, who said they took a special interest in the case because of the young man’s sincerity, tracked his identity by faxing fingerprints and photos to police departments throughout Canada on Sunday after finding no record of his fingerprints with California law enforcement agencies or the FBI.

The officers said they thought that Belmore might be Canadian after detecting a speech inflection and noticing him doodle traffic signs in French. Kimbro said a Sault Ste. Marie police detective recognized the photo and called the family.

Belmore said Monday that he talked to his mother, an aunt and an uncle by telephone, but did not recognize their voices and still does not know much about himself. Kimbro said family members are coming to Pomona to take Belmore home.