Correction: Because of incorrect information from the Sheriff's Department, an earlier version of this story gave the wrong name for the Search and Rescue Unit K-9 handler who found the missing woman. His name is Dave Smee.
A 62-year-old Los Osos woman with dementia who went missing Monday morning was found alive near a creek late Tuesday afternoon.
Felisa Lizada, from Honolulu, was taken via ambulance to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo for a medical evaluation after rescuers found her in thick brush near a creek at 4 p.m. Tuesday. She had sustained moderate injures consistent with a fall, authorities said.
Dave Smee with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue Unit and his K-9 partner, Lassie, located Lizada near the creek off Los Osos Valley Road between Lariat Drive and Clark Valley Road.
Lizada had last been seen at 8:30 a.m. Monday in the 1800 block of Seventh Street in Los Osos.
The mass efforts to find her included ground and air searchers, reverse-911 calls asking Los Osos residents for help and mutual aid from neighboring counties.
Residents were asked to check backyards, sheds and vehicles where she might have gone for shelter.
All told, 55 search and rescue personnel participated in the 24-hour effort, authorities said.
Horse patrols and search dogs were also used, including a bloodhound from the FBI in Ventura County.
A command post was set up at Sunnyside Elementary School in Los Osos.
While local authorities follow many procedures to find missing people, not all are found.
Among the cases still open in the area are those of San Luis Obispo resident George Carpenter, missing since December 2009; Shell Beach resident Helen Thompson, missing since August 2008; and Washington resident Vern Erno, who was visiting Arroyo Grande and went missing Dec. 28, 2003.
Those cases, among others, still have detectives assigned to them, according to the Sheriff’s Department, and are listed in state databases, as well as with the FBI.
When fresh leads come in, detectives check them, officials said.
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
Be the first to know what's going on in San Luis Obispo County. Just tell us how you want to find out — we'll take care of the rest.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from SanLuisObispo.com and get the latest news sent to your cell phone via text message.
By signing up for alerts from this site, you are signing up for a program that may include up to 5 SMS text alert(s) per alert category per day. There is no service fee charged per month but your carrier's standard text messaging and other charges may apply. You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending the text message "STOP" to 72737. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use our alert services. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you agree that you have received parental permission both to complete the registration process and to receive SMS content on your cell phone. For help, send the text message "HELP" to 72737. This service will work with ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell, US Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Boost, Virgin Mobile USA, Celluar South, Telos, Centennial, East Kentucky Network, Cellcom, Immix and Rural Celluar.
E-mail »
Twitter »
Facebook »
iTribune »
Subscribe »
RSS »
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.