The Denny’s employees who helped former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca share how they got him reunited with his loved ones. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Monday, July 15, 2024.
Lee Baca, the former Los Angeles County sheriff who has Alzheimer's disease, has been found hours after wandering from his home Sunday, authorities said.
Baca, 82, was reported missing around 3:30 p.m. in San Marino. Several law enforcement agencies joined the search to find him.
Police received a call from a restaurant owner in El Monte, who said they were concerned about someone who needed help. Baca was wearing an ID bracelet with helpful information including a phone number to help reunite him with family, San Marino Police Chief John Incontro said.
The Denny's where Baca was located was about 6.5 miles from his home. It's unclear how he arrived there.
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Cailie Obert, manager of the Denny’s location where Baca was found, said she didn’t recognize him but knew he needed help.
“I just asked him if he had family or does he live like around here with family. He said no, he lives with a lot of friends,” Obert recalled.
Paola Alvarez, who was Baca’s server, said that when she dropped off the check for the meal he ordered, Baca seemed confused and didn’t pay. Obert and Alvarez both made sure that Baca stayed inside while they called for help.
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“We kept trying to stall him like, ‘Oh, like do you want something to drink?’ or we just kept having a conversation with him to see if he would stay a little bit longer,” Alvarez said.
When officers arrived, Obert says that they, too, did not recognize Baca until she pointed out his medical bracelet.
“We’re glad that he was able to come here and not somewhere else where he could’ve been. No one knew who he was and just let him leave,” Alvarez said.
Incontro said Baca appeared healthy and no follow-up was necessary after he returned home.
Images of the reunion showed officers walking Baca up to his front door, where he was greeted by loved ones.
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed in court documents that Baca was in the early stages of Alzheimer's.
Baca was elected sheriff in 1998 and re-elected three times. He was ordered to serve a three-year federal prison sentence for obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI in 2020.
Baca was convicted of charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and making false statements. During his two trials, prosecutors described the ex-lawman as being the top figure in a multi-part conspiracy, which also involved his former right-hand man, Paul Tanaka, and eight deputies who took orders from the sheriff.
Baca — who ran the nation's largest sheriff's department for more than 15 years — was first tried in December 2016 on obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice counts.
