Full Notification

A 73-year-old missing person at-risk from Spring Valley is back safe with her family. World Luz Loper was found in the Clairemont area of San Diego at 8:20 this morning.

Loper walked away from her home in the 9500 block of Upland Street in Spring Valley last night. Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SAR) was activated to find Loper, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. An off-duty member of SAR, who was not involved in the search, saw Loper's photo in the news this morning and remembered seeing Loper last night in the Clairemont area. Sheriff's SAR called San Diego Police and requested for officers to check the area. Loper was found at the intersection of Balboa Avenue and Genesee Avenue this morning. She has been reunited with her family and will be taken to a hospital for a checkup.

The Sheriff's Department would like to thank the public for looking out for Loper. We also want to thank our volunteers with Sheriff's Search and Rescue. The Sheriff’s Search and Rescue is an all-volunteer unit. Together, they perform wilderness and urban rescues and search for missing and at risk persons. Teams are available 24 hours a day to respond to local, state and federal agency requests. To learn more about SAR, visit http://bit.ly/leuaZr.

We also want to remind the public about the Take Me Home program. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department maintains a FREE and CONFIDENTIAL database of people who may not be able to speak to first responders if they get lost or wander away. The registry is for people with physical or mental challenges, disabilities or medical conditions (i.e. autism, Alzheimer's, Down Syndrome, etc.). This regional database is accessible only to law enforcement agencies.

The Take Me Home registry stores photos and emergency contact information of people who are at risk. It also lists whether they are verbal or non-verbal, if they have serious health concerns such as seizures or take medications, how they react under stress, how to approach them, as well as special care instructions.

If a person at risk goes missing or wanders away, their photo and special care instruction are immediately available to first responders to help with the search. For more information, visit http://goo.gl/CIIMA3.