Crime & Safety

Missing La Mesa Woman, 63, Is Found Dehydrated, Taken to Hospital

Patricia Ann McGinn was lost about 27 hours after last being seen walking away from her pickup in the 4800 block of Mountainbrook Road, Santa Ysabel.

Patricia Ann McGinn of La Mesa, who had been reported missing Friday morning, was found down a canyon in the 5000 block of Mountainbrook Road in Santa Ysabel at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

“McGinn was disoriented, hungry and dehydrated, but otherwise OK,” said Melissa Aquino, a spokeswoman for the county Sheriff’s Department. “She was taken to Pomerado Hospital [in Poway] for a checkup.”

A photo distrtibuted by the Sheriff’s Department shows Sheriff's Search and Rescue Volunteer John Armstrong, an EMT, checking on McGinn, 63, after neighbors reported hearing her calling for help. 

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“McGinn told SAR volunteers that she slept under a house during the night. It is still not known why she ended up in Santa Ysabel.”

Some 108 people were involved in the search, including Sheriff's SAR, ASTREA helicopter, the Highway Patrol, Red Cross, U.S. Forest Service and the San Diego Mountain Rescue. They searched a square-mile area of Wynola to find McGinn.

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“Our thanks to the volunteers and our partner agencies,” Aquino said. “The Sheriff's Department is glad that Patricia McGinn was found safely and will soon be reunited with her loved ones,” she said.

McGinn was last seen about 11:30 a.m. Friday walking away from her pickup in the 4800 block of Mountainbrook Road, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Witnesses reported her as looking disoriented.

The search was halted at 12:30 a.m. Saturday and picked up at 7 Saturday morning. About 80 members of the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team (SAR), as well as K9 and mounted units, and personnel from the Border Patrol's BORSTAR team and U.S. Forest Service, have fanned out across the area in an effort to locate McGinn, said Sheriff’s spokeswoman Aquino.

Story updated at 5:50 p.m. Saturday.


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