Missing Anaheim Man Found in Oxnard

A missing 82-year-old Anaheim man who authorities suspect may have been bilked of nearly $600,000 has turned up at an Oxnard hospital, police said late Wednesday.

Michael George Kunic, who had been missing since February, was found Wednesday at St. Johns Regional Medical Center, where he was being treated for pneumonia. He was reported in fair condition.

“Our investigators are working to determine whether a crime has been committed,” said Sgt. Bob Wren, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Earlier this week the Sheriff’s Department circulated a bulletin seeking the whereabouts of Kunic and Doris Teresa Federico, who works at the bank where Kunic had deposited his money.

Federico apparently had befriended Kunic , after which both he and most of his money disappeared, police said.

Kunic is a ward of the Orange County Public Guardian, an agency that protects the interests of the elderly and infirm. He recently collected $600,000 from a lawsuit settlement.

After depositing the money in a bank and befriending Federico, Kunic dropped out of sight, police said. Authorities became alarmed after noticing that the balance in his bank account had dwindled to $6,000.

After hearing of the search for Kunic, Federico called the Sheriff’s Department late Wednesday and revealed Kunic’s whereabouts.

On Wednesday, Federico, 58, was being questioned by investigators.