The body of a woman found in a San Francisco General Hospital stairwell was confirmed to be missing patient Lynne Spalding.
Spalding, 57, was admitted into the hospital on Sept.19 and was last seen on Sept. 21. Her dead body was discovered on Tuesday, more than two weeks after her disappearance, according to a statement released by her family. Spalding's cause of death is still under investigation.
Friends and Family of Spalding have been searching for her daily since her disappearance "despite reported search efforts executed by hospital staff and the San Francisco Sheriff's Department," according to the statement.
Her death has left many questions in the minds of friends and family, including how many searches were executed for Spalding and who was last seen with her.
"Lynne's family and friends are obviously emotionally exhausted by events of the last 2 1/2 weeks. These questions demand answers -- out of respect for the person whose remains were discovered yesterday, for Lynne Spalding and for all those who seek hospital care at SF General," family spokesperson David Perry said in a statement on the official "Find Lynne" Facebook page.
The hospital released a statement about the events that occurred following Spalding's disappearance:
She was in fair condition when she left her hospital room shortly after being checked on by a nurse at 10:15am. Fifteen minutes later, the nurse checked on her again, and upon finding her room empty, initiated a search of the hospital. When she was not found, SFGH staff notified the family and sheriff's department on site. The sheriffs searched the campus, and did not find her. Her body was found in an exterior stairwell yesterday at 10am by an employee. Until then, she had been considered a missing person, and the San Francisco Police Department was investigating her disappearance.
We do not know how she came to be in the stairwell yesterday, how long she had been there, or what caused her death. The exterior stairwell is a a fire exit that is not routinely used by staff, patients or the public. It is alarmed and locks from the outside; it exits to the hospital grounds at the bottom. Ms. Spalding Ford was discovered there by a member of the engineering staff who was conducting a routine quarterly check.
Click here to read the full hospital news release.
