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Missing UK woman found dead in US hospital stairwell
AFP
October 11, 2013, 4:59 pm
Los Angeles (AFP) - A body found in a US hospital stairwell was identified as that of a British woman who went missing from the medical center over two weeks ago, prompting a huge search.
Fifty-seven year old Lynne Spalding was last seen on September 21 at the San Francisco General Hospital, where she had been admitted for a minor infection.
Hundreds of flyers were distributed in nearby neighborhoods in a search for the mother of two, who was born in England but lived in San Francisco, not far from the hospital.
Friends set up a "Find Lynne" Facebook page and shared her story on other social media.
Her body was found Tuesday in an external stairwell, which serves as a fire escape, during a regular quarterly inspection, officials said.
"We have no idea how this happened," said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Todd May. "We are shaken to our core. What happened at the hospital is horrible. Our staff is devastated."
The hospital held a press conference to announce that it was "fairly certain" the body found Tuesday was Spalding's, but they declined to take questions from reporters.
Spalding's friends said they want more answers.
"Lynne Spalding died alone in a stairwell and her body had been there for 17 days," said David Perry, a family friend.
"This is a nightmare," Perry told reporters. "Steps must be taken to make sure this never happens again."
Lynne Spalding found dead in hospital stairwell two weeks after she went missing from ward
10 Oct 2013 08:11
By Steve Robson
Lynne Spalding, 57, had been receiving treatment at San Francisco General Hospital for a bladder infection when she disappeared
Tragedy: Lynne Spalding had been missing for more than two weeks Tragedy: Lynne Spalding had been missing for more than two weeks. Facebook
A British patient who went missing while being treated at a US hospital has been found dead in a stairwell more than two weeks later.
Lynne Spalding, 57, was at San Francisco General Hospital where she had been undergoing treatment for a bladder infection when she disappeared on September 21.
It is understood she had been in hospital for two days and had been in a stable condition.
Her body was found on Tuesday in a rarely-used stairwell.
The hospital had been searched but when Ms Spalding wasn't found police opened a missing persons case.
A family spokesperson David Perry said he wants answers from San Francisco General Hospital.
He and other friends of Ms Spalding had spent weeks distributing her picture in an effort to find her before the discovery.
"Her family and friends are just devastated," he told the San Jose Mercury. "They're frustrated and apprehensive.
"If we had known she might still be in the hospital, we would never be out canvassing the whole city. We would be searching the hospital."
Search: Family and friends had been searching for Ms Spalding for weeks before her body was found. Twitter
The hospital's chief medical officer, Todd May, said staff did not know what had happened, or how she had got through a fire exit door which was normally alarmed and locked from the outside.
"What happened at our hospital is horrible," he said.
"We are here to take care of patients, to heal them, to keep them safe. This has shaken us to our core. Our staff is devastated."
A statement released by the hospital later added: "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Ms Spalding.
"Her disappearance has ended in tragedy and at this point we do not know what happened.
"We are here to provide patient care and security to more than 100,000 patients each year, and their families.
"Nothing like this has ever happened before - this is without precedent."
