Search and Rescue locates missing Ojai man
by Lenny Roberts

Ventura County Search and Rescue teams located a resident of the Casa Blanca Residential Care Facility Sunday, who had apparently wandered from the Rockaway Road location at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday. The man, 64-year-old Dennis Gertsman, also known as Steve Gertsman, suffers from Alzheimer's disease. He was found in a ravine on Burnham Road at 8:30 a.m., more than 14 hours after he walked away, and had sustained a head injury and appeared cold and lethargic, according to Sheriff's Senior Deputy Julie Smith. He was transported by ambulance to the Ojai Valley Community Hospital for medical assessment.
Other than being diagnosed with the disease that causes severe memory loss, Gertsman was reportedly in excellent health prior to the incident.
Saturday night, a command post was established at the Oak View Community Center as 20 deputies and Search and Rescue volunteers, aided by a county helicopter, unsuccessfully searched throughout the night.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

Back to the news