CAMARILLO : Missing Hospital Patient Is Found
He was scratched up and hungry, but Camarillo State Hospital patient Scott Tipton was otherwise unharmed after spending four days wandering in the farm fields of Camarillo, hospital officials said Thursday.
Tipton, who is deaf and has a limited ability to communicate, left the hospital grounds Sunday night and was apparently lost in the hills and farm fields until he pounded on the door of a house three miles from the hospital, according to a Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman.
The homeowner called the Sheriff’s Department about 1:30 p.m. Thursday and the responding deputies recognized Tipton from photos that were distributed by the hospital.
“We’re very fortunate to have found him,” said Myron Dimmett, a hospital spokesman. “He appears to be OK. When we found him he indicated that he was very hungry and wanted some candy.”
Dimmett said he did not know where Tipton had been during the days he was missing, but he assumed that he had been wandering in the rugged area between the hospital and Pancho Road, where he was found.
“We’re just glad he’s back safely,” Dimmett said.
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