they admit that they made mistakes during the search for spalding. christine has details. >> the gravity of the situation is not lost on any of us. >> reporter: the sheriff went through the list of things that went wrong during the search for missing is a san francisco general patient lynn spalding. deputies got a report that a patient had wandered off. >> the physician said i came into the room to discharge her and she was already gone. the physician also says but she is confused and not safe to be on her own,, quote/unquote,. >> reporter: the deputy in charge did not consider this a missing person's case. and information was not passed on to the next deputies on shift. then came confusion. the sheriff said hospital staff misidentified spalding, who is white, first as african- american and then as asian. when a deputy went to look at security footage, the cameras did not work. >> the supervisor attempted to review the footage as requested by police, but due to hardware problems was not able to do so. >> reporter: more than a week after she vanished,

possible to see spalding leaving. but there was a hardware problem and it didn't work. until days later. we don't know what the video shows. >> reporter:then more than a week after she was reported missing. hospital officials asked deputies to search the entire hospital. and the sheriff said today. that was not done correctly. >> reporter:the sheriff also addressed the reports that. a still unidentified man. saw a body in the stairwell at the hospital and told a staff member. >> reporter:at six tonight. hear what the sheriff had to say about what deputies did. and did not do.after getting that tip. >> reporter:what we did not hear today. spaldings cause or time of death. those details will reveal a lot more. the sheriff did express his condolences to the family. >> pam: what does lynne spalding's family have to say about this.? . >> reporter:the attorney representing lynne's children told me he doesn't believe the sheriff's office took this case very seriously. what he found most troubling. tonight at 6. >> pam: just

and hospital staff misidentified lynne spalding twice. we're talking basic stuff. the san francisco county sheriff ross mirkarimi listed all that went wrong in the search for lynne spalding. first hospital staff identified her as african-american. logs later listed the 57-year- old caucasian woman as asian. the doctor told police he was about to discharge spalding when she went missing september 21 but added she was confused and was not safe to be on her own. when deputies did the search, nine days later, it was not thorough. the sheriff said the deputies only searched about 50% of the stairwells and october 4, 4 days before someone found spalding, hospital staff, someone called the dispatch and said that there was someone lying in stairwell 8, the same stairwell where someone found spalding and the dispatcher said, quote, we'll take care of it. it does not appear that was done. live at sf general, ryan takeo, kpix 5. >> we still don't know how or why when spalding died. we did call the coroner's office today. we were told they are still looking into it. >>> studen

>>i don't they didn't take it seriously. >> reporter:the attorney for spalding's two children does not believe authorites did much to try and find her. >>more and more troubling. asian african american woman dont seem to know who their patient was >> reporter: to make sure a tragedy like this never happens. daily patrol and a protocol for when alarms go off with adding this test. kron 4 received this statement from san francisco general hospital officials. the hospital says, this was their first opportunity to learn details of the sheriff's investigation. >> reporter:the director of health said. quote - "it must be difficult for lynne spaulding's family and friends to hear of today's news. we owe it to them, and to all of our current and future pateints, to strengthen our security services." >> pam: crisp aldon family is extremely dissatisfied with the sheriff's department. looking for a peace of mind. lynn spauding's family >> is certainly does not answer the question how a one ankle late on a stairwell for 17 days on discovered. >> reporter: at one point it was i she was identified a

concerned that spalding may have never left that site. three days later they called deputies with a report of someone laying in the third to fourth floor landing. >> the communications center staff, they responded. we'll take care of it. and that there is no indication that anyone was dispatched to that stairwell. >> i'm not sure that anybody has seemed to have taken this particularly seriously. >> reporter: and in a statement released by them about 20 minutes ago. a spokesman says it is good to have more information as we are all seeking answers about what happened to spalding so that it never happens again. reporting live in san francisco, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> and our coverage will be continuing on ktvu. you can watch the entire press conference where they outline that timeline of lynn spalding's disappearance and their response and limited search. just look under top story on our home page. >>> the police chief said that the 16-year-old boy accused of setting a young man on fire could be charged as an adult. a decision by the distr

when deputies started to search nine days after spalding went missing, it was not thorough enough.heriff said the deputies only searched about 50% of the stairwells. >> staff was directed to search stairwells only about half of the stairwells were searched. >> reporter: hospital staff even called emergency dispatch to report a body in stairwell 8. >> the communication center staff responded. >> we'll take care of it. there is no indication that anyone was dispatched to that stairwell. >> reporter: it wasn't until four days later that spalding was found dead in that stairwell. >> vow to make sure something like this never happens again. >> i think it's just the kind of rhetoric that you expect to hear. >> sorry, we're looking into it, it doesn't help the two kids that are left without a mother. >> reporter: sf general just cents us a statement. in it, officials say that they are cooperating with investigations and considering adding more private security to the deputies who are already here. today by the way the hospital started retraining and reorienting deputies with the hospital

he is also connected to the spalding case. this comes as fallout from the lynn spalding case.his is a woman that was being treated at san francisco general hospital in september. her body was found in a stairwell 17 days after she went missing. the 57-year-old disappeared september 21st but it wasn't until nine days later that a search was done. sheriff ross mirkarimi admitted only half of the stairwells were searched september 30th. someone did call to report a dead body. but it wasn't until four days later that spalding's body was found. one policy change that the sheriff has already implemented is that any time am patient here at san francisco general goes missing, a full search of the campus will be done. i am told that more changes are to come and we will keep you posted. live from san francisco i'm tara moriarty ktvu channel 2 news. >>> we've been watching the philippines the most powerful typhoon ever recorded made landfall this morning. i want to show you new video of a family in a village. they are trying to carry their small home to higher ground. the category five t

and these changes cam in the wake of the lynn spalding case. the woman being treated at sf general who's body was found in a stairwell. she went missing october 21st but it wasn't until nine days later that a search was done. and in a press conference theyed a will mitted only half of the stairwells were searched. deputies that provide security at the hospital didn'ted a first consider 57-year-old spalding to be a missing person. according to the deputies attorney saling was close to being discharged. coming up we will tell you about security at the hospital. people who are not certified peace officers. live from san francisco i'm tara moriarty ktvu channel 2 news. >>> time is 5:03. a developing story in antioch. one person was killed. these are live pictures. look at these incredible pictures. suv crashed into a parked semi trailer. this is live. this happened right behind the antioch police station in the area of second street court. the roof of that vehicle completely sheered off from the impact of that crash. this happened at 2:15 this morn

today, mirkarimi admitted only half of the stairwells were searople went l spalding. he said that search was hamper bid under staffing and antiquated dispatch, and unreliable video cameras. mirkarimi says the sheriff's department is working to fix the issues >> we have issued two new ipu policies. first, daily patrol of the stairwells. and it's not been dill lynn -- deliniated stairwells. >> she >> oakland police have made an arrest but they're still looking for help on a bizarre attack on luke sasha fleeshman. his clothes were set on fire on an ac transit bus. laura anthony is live. are laura? >> hi, carolyn. we do know this crime is being investigated as a possible hate crime. and part because of the victims' gender identity. police here want two good samaritans to come forward. they have two people that can be seen on surveillance video trying to help this victim put out flames. >> they have to wake up and realize life is too short for killing and beating each other up. >>> a neighbor shot this skween his cell phone. moments after responding to a call a passenger h

october 4, 2 weeks after lynn spalding disappeared from her hospital bed a nurse heard a mystery man knocking on a locked door of an emergency man the man told the nurse he saw a person in the stairwell. he then left quickly never identifying himself. the nursing supervisor notified a sheriff's dispatcher said deputies would check it out but sheriff mirkarimi admitted they dropped the ball. >> there is no indication anyone was dispatched to that stairwell. >> police distributed this flyer said they're looking for the mystery witness the researcher says he came forward after he saw it on a bulletin board a source says the researcher told them he was on the 5th floor of the stairwell and said the person was lying between the three ready and 4th floors and added he didn't do near or touch, or move the person that, he didn't know if she was dead or alive. investigators say spalding was dead by that time, and that her body would have been badly decomposed he said he didn't detect that. investigators tell thaws is the extent of what he knew. police say they've now completed their probe. th

the sheriff's hospital unit oversaw the search for spalding. she went missing september 21st and was found dead in a hospital stairwell 17 days later. all four will be replaced and three additional staff members will be assigned to the hospital to increase security there. the sheriff's department did not say whether any of the transfers were directly tied to the mistakes made during the search. >> there are still some deals to be had where you go on route where there's a lot of competition. >> we will show you why you shouldn't worry while planning a family get-away for the holidays. >>> one parent speaks with kron 4 about her emotions, remembering her loved one who lost his life on the old bay bridge. >> coming up a little later in the broadcast, the latest from the ugliness in miami. guess who is returning to the candlestick. i'll give you this, to. >> after the kron 4 news, stay tuned w deborah norville. >> new tonight at 11:00, more than a dozen families of people who were killed on the old eastern span of the bay bridge will join together

the attorney for spalding's to children does not believe authority's did much to try and find her. spalding's body was found in the stairwell last month, two weeks after she went missing from her hospital room and tantrums as the general hospital. kron4 received a statement from san francisco general hospital officials. the director of health said " it must be difficult for lynne spalding's family and friends to hear of today's news. we owe it to them and to all of our current and future patients, to strengthen our security services. " the devil we will talk about the big game services. " the devil we will talk about the big game hey... is this flu shot necessary? it keeps you healthy during flu season. but does it hurt? nah. plus you get a really sweet bandaid! anything else i should know? here's a thought, try scoring more points on the other team. okay. even a warrior can get sick. kaiser permanente reminds you to get your flu shot this season. imagine a place created all around family. where everyone, can relax or play.. ♪ now imagine that place in hawaii. welcome to aulani....

an francisco's sheriff revealing the department's incomplete search for lynne spalding --- the female patient whose body was found in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital. >> and the staff was directed to search the campus. it did not include the stairwells. they stated that they would take care of it. there was no indication that anyone was dispatched to go to the stairwell. >> sheriff ross mirkarimi admits, his department made mistakes during the search for spalding. line >> kron 4 received this statement from san francisco general hospital officials. it says, this was their first opportunity to learn details of the sheriff's investigation. the director of health said - quote - "it must be difficult for lynne spalding's family and friends to hear of today's news. we owe it to them and to all of our current and future patients, to strengthen our security services." >> a hearing will be held today in response to the deaths of two bart track inspectors. they were struck by a train last month. this is video of the scene. assemblyman roger hernandez says the purpose of the heari

this is all from fallout regarding the lynn spalding case. the woman that was being treated here who's body was found in a hospital stairwell on october 8th. she went missing september 21st but it wasn't until nine days late tear a -- later that a search started. they did not consider 57-year- old spalding to be missing. we know a policy change had also been implemented. we will tell you what that is coming up. >>> am string of suspicious fires is raising concerns in a castro valley neighborhood. in the last few weeks there have been six suspicious brush fires in the parsons estates neighborhood. some neighbors say they think they know who has been setting those fires. >> i think its kids. yeah i think its kids. i know when we walk the dog to the park there is kids. >> there has been a lot of kids back there in the canyon drinking and partying. >> so far all of the fires have been small and put out quickly but firefighters say there is a lot of brush and open space in the area so they are asking people to be alert. >>> 4:45 is the time right

spalding. >> when asked by a description the caller said, quote, she's african american lady, 57 years old. female. she's wearing a hospital gown. >> in fact, miss spalding was caulkation a subsequent report describes her as asian. among those listening today the spalding family's attorney, peg harris has yet to receive what he calls an overdue autopsy report. >> all i'm told are is it's not available. no more explanations than that. >> reporter: do you expect anything out of it? >> i should it v.it by now. >> reporter: lgs, vague details about how and why the department never conducted a complete search of the hospital after an engineer reported seeing someone on the stairwell and called it in. >> the staff responded will take care of i there is no indication anyone was dispatched >> but why? whom is in the sheriff said the staff would make efforts to answer questions but they did not stick around for long, or vary from the script. >> the sheriff read it. it's in your outline, thank you. >> reporter: what did the sheriff accomplish today? >> not particularly much. >> reporter: at city

. >> lo que le pasó a la señora spalding ford no debería haberle pasado a nadie dijo el alguacil mickrd de 55 años de edad había ingresado al hospital por una infección en agosto, pero desapareció y fue encontrada a 19m días después en las escaleras del hospital, además se investiga por qué no sabían a quién buscaban , confundiendo la etnia de la víctima, indicando en algún momento que buscaban a una mujer asiática o afroamericana, diciendo el abogado de la víctima que al parecer los alguaciles no estaban interesados en encontrar a la persona perdida. >> a un político le pegaron un tremendo golpe cuando estaba en una entrecvista. >> miles de personas intentan dejar de lado adicciones a drogas, alcohol valiéndose de una técnica antigua y poderosa de sugestióin. >> y vamos a ver la temperatura. >> (información en pantalla). >> ya volvemos con más. >> ♪. >> ♪. >> estas imágenes fueron grabadas en daytona beach en florida cuando un jugador de gridiron estadounidense que estaba amenazando de matarla con un cuchillo, green amenazaba a la mujer y cuando la policía le dijo que bajara el arma

two two weeks after lynn spalding vanished from her hospital bed. nurse heard man knocking on the door of an emergency stairwell on the fifth floor of the building where her body was litter found. he was trying to get out on to the hospital floor. >> she let him in. on the fifth floor and said what are you doing here? this is an emergency stairwell. he said wrong stairwell thanks for letting me in that sort of exchange took place then he said by the way looks lick there's someone down further down on the stairwell. maybe asleep or not sure but it looks lick someone is down 30. man then left quickly. never identifying himself. the person he referred to prawm bring lynn spalding lying on the stairs between the third and fourth floors. nursing supervisor notified a sheriff's dispatcher who said they would check it out. sheriff's said two week ago his deputy never checked that stairwell. spalding body was found 4 days later in that same location. >> investigators again actively looking for him hoping to pray some important answers. abc 7 news has learne

. >> a san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi reveals more details about hospital patient lynn spalding, found dead in a stairwell in the hospital october 8th. we're live where mirkarimi released new details. wayne? >> reporter: we can report at this point this case remains amiss in the foernl the family but sheriff's department and san francisco general hospital. if you're a personal injury attorney, however this, case represents a field day. >> reporter: in your opinion what did the sheriff accomplish today? >> not particularly much. >> reporter: one lawyer's opinion but he represents the family of lynn spalding, he listened as sheriff ross mirkarimi read from a careful script describing how the 57-year-old patient disappear from theed bed, only to be found dead in the hospital stairwell october 8th. >> that was directed to search stairwells. only about half were searched. >> reporter: the report details how the staff described miss spalding as african american, then, asian. more perplexing a report from an engineer on october 4th. >> someone told the staff person that they, there was

spalding so that it will never happen again." in san francisco david stevenson, ktvu channel 2 news. >> more details now, san francisco general released a statement that outlines the immediate steps that include an independent review of security and facilities by ucsf. also recommendations are expected in 30 to 90 days. refresher training is now being provided to deputies assigned to the hospital and the hospital says it is exploring whether to expand private security contracts to help fill in the gaps. >>> united airlines is the latest airline to lift restrictions on portable electronic devices. united's new policy starts immediately. passengers can use tablets, e readers, games and smartphones from gate to gate. larger devices such as laptops still must be stored during takeoff and landing for safety reasons and voice calls on cell phones are still prohibited. >>> sobering news about the number of people living in poverty in california. when cost of living is taken into account, california has the highest poverty rate in the co

. >> a san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi reveals more details about hospital patient lynn spalding, found dead in a stairwell in the hospital october 8th. we're live where mirkarimi released new details. wayne? >> reporter: we can report at this point this case remains amiss in the foernl the family but sheriff's department and san francisco general hospital. if you're a personal injury attorney, however this, case represents a field day. >> reporter: in your opinion what did the sheriff accomplish today? >> not particularly much. >> reporter: one lawyer's opinion but he represents the family of lynn spalding, he listened as sheriff ross mirkarimi read from a careful script describing how the 57-year-old patient disappear from theed bed, only to be found dead in the hospital stairwell october 8th. >> that was directed to search stairwells. only about half were searched. >> reporter: the report details how the staff described miss spalding as african american, then, asian. more perplexing a report from an engineer on october 4th. >> someone told the staff person that they, there was

then the ship to said hospital staff misidentified spalding, who is white first as african- americanthen as asian in hospital logs. when a deputy want to look at security footage the cameras did not work. finally an unidentified man saw a body in the stairwell and told a staff member. the deputies did nothing about it. >>: there is no indication that anyone was dispatched to that stairwell. >>: >>james: the attorney for spaldings's to children does not believe all parties did much to find her. spaulding to body was found in the stairwell last month, two weeks after she went missing from her hospital room at san francisco general hospital. >>james: kron4 received a statement from san francisco general hospital officials. director of health said " it must be difficult for lynne spalding's family and friends to hear of today's news. we owe it to them and to all of our current and future patient to strengthen our security services. " >>mark: a dangerous operation is about to begin at the fukushima nuclear plant in japan. tepco, the operator of the site, says it will start removing fuel r

spaldings family just one of hundreds waiting for information now on loved one whose have passed away. the chronicle discovered more than 600 cases have been waiting more than three months for a cause of death. there are 80 that have been open for more than a year now. spokesman for the spalding family is holding the head of the medical examine turpitudes office responsible for that backlog. >> dr. heart needs to work faster not only on behalf of lynn spalding but frankly the citizens of san francisco who are demanding better and faster help than that. it's outrageous >> medical examiner dr. ann heartell says her department is dealing with staffing issues right now and that the the reason for the delay. at least one bart board member is talking about a move to keep bart workers from walking. bart and its unions are fighting over disputed family leave provision that made it into the tentative contract unions approved. the unions are threatening legal action and another strike is now possible but here is what one bart director told kpix5 insider phil matier. >> if you're an essential em

spalding so that it will never happen again." in san francisco david stevenson, ktvu channel 2 news. >> more details now, san francisco general released a statement that outlines the immediate steps that include an independent review of security and facilities by ucsf. also recommendations are expected in 30 to 90 days. refresher training is now being provided to deputies assigned to the hospital and the hospital says it is exploring whether to expand private security contracts to help fill in the gaps. >>> united airlines is the latest airline to lift restrictions on portable electronic devices. united's new policy starts immediately. passengers can use tablets, e readers, games and smartphones from gate to gate. larger devices such as laptops still must be stored during takeoff and landing for safety reasons and voice calls on cell phones are still prohibited. >>> sobering news about the number of people living in poverty in california. when cost of living is taken into account, california has the highest poverty rate in the co

video surfaced sparking claims of excessive force. >> what happened to miss spalding ford should haveer happened to anyone. >> reporter: lynne spalding was missing for more than 2.5 weeks before her body was finally found in san francisco general hospital and now authorities have finally interviewed the mysterious witness who they believe reported seeing her days earlier in a hospital stairway. from across the bay to around the world, the stories that matter on "kpix 5 news this morning." captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> are you kidding me?! >> your realtime captioner is mrs. linda m. macdonald. >>> well, rain returns to our area, a live look at our hi-def doppler showing showers hitting the east bay with another wave heading for san francisco. good morning, everyone. it's wednesday, november 20th. i'm michelle griego. >> hi, everyone. i'm frank mallicoat. as we just saw, still raining in parts of the bay area. >> good to see rain back in the bay area. looks like steady rain has come to an end but we'll have more showers throughout the day today, on and of

no one seems to know what happened to 57-year-old lynne spalding. a worker found the missing woman's body in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital. investigators recently asked for help finding an asian man, possibly a hospital employee who saw a person lying in the stairwell days before spalding was found. now some deputies say that key witness may not even exist. >> i don't think there was ever anybody that came and said, hey, there is a dead body. >> reporter: today state investigators interviewed the deputies about what happened. stern told ktvu, he thinks the story about a potential witness who may have stepped over a body on the stairs is made up. >> i certainly haven't heard anything credible to seems to seth that happened. >> how did lynne get into that stairwell? >> reporter: tonight, he told ktvu, information about a possible witness came directly to him from a doctorate the hospital. perry said the family wants all members of law enforcement to work together to find answers. >> all we know is that her body was neglected like a pie

no one seems to know what happened to 57-year-old lynne spalding. a worker found the missing woman's body in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital. investigators recently asked for help finding an asian man, possibly a hospital employee who saw a person lying in the stairwell days before spalding was found. now some deputies say that key witness may not even exist. >> i don't think there was ever anybody that came and said, hey, there is a dead body. >> reporter: today state investigators interviewed the deputies about what happened. stern told ktvu, he thinks the story about a potential witness who may have stepped over a body on the stairs is made up. >> i certainly haven't heard anything credible to seems to seth that happened. >> how did lynne get into that stairwell? >> reporter: tonight, he told ktvu, information about a possible witness came directly to him from a doctorate the hospital. perry said the family wants all members of law enforcement to work together to find answers. >> all we know is that her body was neglected like a pie

spalding's body found four days later in that location. investigators began looking for him, hoping he can provide answers. abc # news learned the mystery man is a visiting doctor from india now working at ucsf in san francisco general. police have questioned him. >> it's just another element of astonishment. to me. >> this is a spalding family lawyer. >> here we are, 19th of november, now, someone comes forward, a doctor says i was the one that saw her and did nothing more than say so to someone that let him in out of a locked door? i can't fathom the thinking. >> reporter: san francisco general issued a statement after we aired our story confirming that the person is a researcher working at the hospital. our sources say he apparently saw a flyer sent out by police and realized he must be the one investigators were looking for. that is why he came forward. >> at least they found him, vic, thank you. we're learning more information about what may have provoked a man to kick a homeless woman sleeping on the street in san francisco this, is

investigation tell us they solved the mystery of the man who says he saw a person presumably lynn spalding at the bottom of a locked stairwell. now, everybody has been looking for this man, who reported what he saw october 4th, two weeks after spalding vanished from her hospital bed he told the nurse he saw the person lying on the stairs between three ready and 4th floors then, he left quickly the nursing supervisor notified a sheriff deputy to check it out. sheriff mirkarimi says deputies never did check that stairwell. the body was found four days later. the mystery person appears to be the only whoun saw the body during her long disappearance and gators have been looking for him, hoping he can provide answers our sources tell us that the man is a doctor. a visiting doctor from india, working at ucsf in san francisco general. at 6:00 tonight we'll tell you more of what we've learned and why the doctor finally came forward. >> now to police protest about to get underway. some residents in san francisco say officers went too far in this arrest captured on video. this is cell phone video ob

lynn spalding's body found 17 days after she vanished from her hospital bed wex reported yesterday a mystery witness, a doctor came forward. what the witness told police, a story onlyn abc7 news >> our sources tell us the man is a doctor from india not yet licensed to practice here. he's a researcher at that hospital in san francisco general. investigators hope he can provide important information since he appears to be the only whoun saw lynn spalding during the disappearance. police distributed this flyer which said they're looking for a mystery witness the researcher said he came forward after he saw it on a bulletin board and told investigators "i'm the mystery witness". october 4th, a nurse heard a mystery man locking on a locked door of an emergency stairwell here on the 5th floor of the building. the man told the nurse he saw a person lying in the stairwell, then left quickly, never identifying himself the nursing supervisor notified a sheriff dispaper who said deputy woz check it out but sheriff mirkarimi said they dropped the ball. >> the source close to the investigation sa

. >> the attorney for the spalding family says he's disturbed he was going to discharge her but she was confused and not safe to be on her own. >> to say she was at risk and confused and shouldn't be by herself in another sentence is just to me extraordinary indifference >> the it took nine days before the hospital requested deputies search the entire campus. >> staff was directed to search stairwells. only about half were searched. ktvu learned the police department's missing person's unit met with hospital staff a october 1st concerned that spalding may have never left the site. three days later a hospital staffer had a report with someone landing in the 3rd or 4th floor landing. >> there is no indication anyone was dispatched to that stairwell. >> i'm not sure anybody seemed to have taken this particularly seriously. >> a statement released by san francisco general hospital this evening, a spokes woman said, quote, it is good to have more information so that it will never happen again. in san francisco, david stevenson, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> twitter has tweeted the share price for

spalding's body found four days later in that location. investigators began looking for him, hoping he can provide answers. abc # news learned the mystery man is a visiting doctor from india now working at ucsf in san francisco general. police have questioned him. >> it's just another element of astonishment. to me. >> this is a spalding family lawyer. >> here we are, 19th of november, now, someone comes forward, a doctor says i was the one that saw her and did nothing more than say so to someone that let him in out of a locked door? i can't fathom the thinking. >> reporter: san francisco general issued a statement after we aired our story confirming that the person is a researcher working at the hospital. our sources say he apparently saw a flyer sent out by police and realized he must be the one investigators were looking for. that is why he came forward. >> at least they found him, vic, thank you. we're learning more information about what may have provoked a man to kick a homeless woman sleeping on the street in san francisco this, is

lynn spalding's body found 17 days after she vanished from her hospital bed wex reported yesterday a mystery witness, a doctor came forward. what the witness told police, a story only on abc7 news >> our sources tell us the man is a doctor from india not yet licensed to practice here. he's a researcher at that hospital in san francisco general. investigators hope he can provide important information since he appears to be the only whoun saw lynn spalding during the disappearance. police distributed this flyer which said they're looking for a mystery witness the researcher said he came forward after he saw it on a bulletin board and told investigators "i'm the mystery witness". october 4th, a nurse heard a mystery man locking on a locked door of an emergency stairwell here on the 5th floor of the building. the man told the nurse he saw a person lying in the stairwell, then left quickly, never identifying himself the nursing supervisor notified a sheriff dispaper who said deputy woz check it out but sheriff mirkarimi said they dropped the ball. >> the source close to the investigation

. >> what happened to miss spalding ford should have never happened to anyone. >> reporter: lynne spalding was missing for more than 2.5 weeks before her body was finally found in san francisco general hospital and now authorities have finally interviewed the mysterious witness who they believe reported seeing her days earlier in a hospital stairway. from across the bay to around the world, the stories that matter on "kpix 5 news this morning." >> are you kidding me?! you captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> your realtime captioner is mrs. linda m. macdonald. >>> good morning, everyone. it's a rainy wednesday, good to have you on board november 20th. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. time now is 6:01. let's get straight to meteorologist lawrence karnow with more on this rain. >> yeah, guys. a nice rainfall moving through the bay area. it looks like it continues now although the steady rain has moved to these, scattered showers. you can see that on our hi-def doppler radar over the last few hours turning more towards scattered showers. heavier rainfall sh

spalding disappeared from her room september 21. her body was discovered almost three weeks later. >>> a labor dispute is impacting uc medical centers statewide today. the one-day strike is affecting hundreds of patients and their families. anne makovec joins us live now, where medical workers are on the picket lines. anne. >> reporter: they're walking that line despite the rain this morning. the workers that you can see here behind me a wide variety of roles here at ucsf medical center from respiratory therapists to mri technicians to janitors who have been working without a contract for more than a year and they are nowhere close to a deal. >> reporter: this is the second strike this year for two unions representing almost 22,000 patient care and service workers at five uc medical centers and nine campuses. >> we are your voice. we see the things behind the scenes that patients may not see. >> we have been telling the university forever that we have staffing problems. we're understaffed. we're putting patients at risk. and they tr

spalding disappeared from a room september 21. her body was discovered almost three weeks later. >>> right now, about 21,000 workers are about to stage a one-day strike against five medical centers operated by the university of california. kpix 5 reporter anne makovec joins us now live from uc-san francisco, one of the facilities they are targeting. >> reporter: you're going to see a pink line in front of the hospital -- a picket line in front of the hospital here starting around 6 a.m. this morning, a rally this afternoon. about 22,000 patient care and service workers at five uc pled centers and nine campuses are protesting what they call unfair labor practices, intimidation and harassment by the university. this is video of a one-day strike they held in may. here at ucsf they are trying to minimize patient impact and a judge barred about 50 employees dubbed critical from joining this strike. but about 50 surgeries have been postponed as well as some chemo treatments. the hospital sent out this statement saying, a strike will cos

and new developments in the death of lynne spalding at s-f general. police have interviewed the mystery witness they've been looking for. more on that story in a moment. good morning. it is wednesday, november 20th. i'm james fletcher. and im anny hong take a look at the afternoon we are talking about pops up heavy downpour. it is still raining and the bay area. heavy rain is expected with this cold front. we're also going to increase the likelihood of thunderstorms. that is possible for everyone north of san jose. the rain will taper off as we head into the evening and overnight hours but they're still a chance of scattered showers as we begin tomorrow morning. here's a look rainfall totals within the past 24 hours. we sing a little over a quarter of an inch at sfo and almost an inch of rain in santa rosa. as for today highs will be similar so plenty of upper 50s low 60s. 57 year high today in daly city. 62 degrees in concord. your 7 day on the bay forecast shows unsettled weather that can very well last into tomorrow a pass that high pressure will b

. >>> and more details on the hospital patient, lyn spalding who disappeared from her room the 21th. abc news reporter wayne freedman is on the story. >> in your opinion, what did the sheriff accomplish today? >> not particularly much. >> reporter: it is one lawyer's opinion, but hague represents the woman's family. he listened as the events were described how the 57-year-old patient disappeared from her bed, september 21st, only to be found in a stair well october 8th. >> only about half of the stair wells were searched by police. >> reporter: the sheriff reports details initially how the hospital staff described ms. spalding as an african-american, then an asian, more surprising, as an engineer on october first. >> somebody told the staff person that there was somebody laying on the landing in the third or fourth floor of the stair well 8. the communication center staff responded, we'll take care of it. there is no indication that anyone was dispatched to that stair well. >> reporter: but why? and whom. the sheriff said his staff would attempt to answer any questions. but they did

the investigation into the death of lynn spalding has taken yet another strange turn.ast week someone found spalding's body in the stairwell at san francisco general hospital 17 days after she disappeared from her room. investigators are looking for help finding a mystery witness. an asian man, possibly a worker, found spalding in the stairwell several days before it was found but deputies say the witness doesn't exist. in the meantime, the man accused of killing oakland federal investigator sandra coke will be back in the courtroom today. >>> during testimony yesterday, testimony by a police officer and two of randy a lana's nephew say he is the father of coke's 15-year-old daughter. there is testimony sandra coke became obsessed with finding her missing dog and suspected alana may have something to do with the disappearance. >>> happening today, it is the state's largest casino that is opening in rohnert park. tara moriarty is inside the grayton casino which promises to be as grand as those in las vegas! >> reporter: yes. this is the room for you two behind me. it is

those were the first two in a series of epic blunders in the disappearance of lyn spalding. problem started at 10 >>>25 a.m. when lyn's doctors and nurszs grossly misidentified her. she's english. >> twice during that conversation, the deputy was told that the missing woman was african american and wearing a hospital gown. >> fos fore ward 14 hours. the identity problems continue, this time by dem deputies. >> this ford was identified by, quote, an asian female. . the supervisor also attempted to review the video footage as requested by sfpd, but due to hardware problems, wasn't able to do so. >> nine days after lyn's disappearance, her case continued to fall through the kraks of employee incompetence. >> staff was directed to search the campus. the search did not include all the stair wels. >> on october #1s, now, ten days later, an attempt to clean up the search proved just as sloppy, and on october 4th, 14 days later, the asleep at the wheel sej for lyn could have been cracked only to be ignored. >> there was somebody laying on the landing in the third or fourth floor of

spalding body was found october 8 in locked hospital stairwell 17 days after she disappeared from her room. at wednesday briefing he promised to make thorough review of hospital security. >> assessment will include resources to provide 24-7 law enforcement services. >> we learn today that 4 people have been transferred out of the hospital security unit. civilian dispatcher 2 senior sheriff's deputy and one sergeant. the unit now unthe command of captain reports directly to him. 2 add until lieutenant. 2 sergeant to compliment 3 others still ther there. and 2 new senior deput deputy. hospital security unit xrised of 28 deputy and institutional officers will now have a total of 31 members. harris says this is just changing personnel and not real reform. >> you don't change the protocol and if you don't have the people that make sure they do these people do their jobs. it's no different than it was before. the shake up is more for look than it is i think of any real substance. >> the sheriff's office tells us there will be more staff changes next week. abc 7 news has also learned that fe

to miss spalding ford. >> the kind of rhetoric you speck to hear. we're years. we're looking into it. it doesn't help the two kids left without a mother. >> the sheriff said the a program was relaunched today to train all sheriffs staff. >>> twitter will drop its ipo in less than nine hours. as you can see, this cnbc photo, twitter has taken over the new york stock exchange with a banner covering the building. the san jose company set its stock price at $26. they are hoping to raise $1.8 billion. now more details. it has some investors valuing twitter at more than $18 billion. many are warning to be cautious before they buy. social website has yet to post profits. it has pulled in $422 million in sales but even so it is losing money. the company record a loss of $134 million this year. >>> an extreme idea for extreme fun. still ahead, the bold plan for year round skiing and snow boarding here in the bay area. >> plus, mystery solved. google says it is cooking up inside that barge parked in the bay. >>> babies and eye contact. how it could offer an early sign of

. >> plus esperanza spalding lending her chorus of human rights activist demanding guantanamo bay be closed. her new single called "we are america." he esperanza will join me live. >>> tomorrow is thanksgiving, we'd like to know what you're thankful for. you can tweet your answers using the hash tag why i'm thankful. my answer, my support of colleagues and friend and family and for the continued sacrifice of the men and women serving in our military. whoa! sweet mother of softness. paws off, pal. [ female announcer ] new charmin ultra soft is so soft, you can actually see the softness with our new comfort cushions. plus you can use up to four times less. enjoy the go with new charmin ultra soft. we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness if you qualify, and new car replacement, standard with our auto policies. so call liberty mutual at... today. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? is caused by people looking fore traffic parking.y that's remarkable that so much ene

new details in the death investigation of lynne spalding. the mystery man who saw a body in the stairwell days before spalding was found.has now come forward. kron four's mike pelton is live at s-f general hospital with more. >> this man works here at the hospital and they have been tried to reach him for quite some time. she was a hospital for a bladder infection when she disappeared and hospital officials stated that two weeks after she disappeared this man--was led and and he notified one person that he saw some one. this was back on october 4th. this was the body of land. her body was found in the stairwell. sheriff deputies did not check the stairwell or follow-up on the tip. a member of the hospital staff found her and that it wanted to talk to this man to put the pieces together. >> a again, we never like to leave anyone like this. we like to shed light on something. the fact that everyone was considering that now, he did give his account. this is just one of those loose ends. >> they interviewed him and you've heard the chief stated

heart needs to work faster, not only on behalf of lynn spalding but frankly on behalf of the citizens of san francisco who are demanding better and faster help than this. it's outrageous. >> medical examiner dr. ann heart tells kpix 5 her department is dealing with staff issues right now and that's the reason for the delays. >>> if you're looking at enrolling in california online you will see a new and improved website today. the enrollment features was taken off line on friday for software upgrades. the site will now have health care options for small businesses, consumers will also see faster page loading speeds, smoother navigation and changes in the text to make it a little easier to understand. >>> new this morning, the united nations is reporting talks between syria's regime and the opposition have been scheduled. it's expected to take place in genevaxe in saturday. the u-n is hoping for a peaceful transition of power in syria and freedom for the people of the war torn country. >>> and they've been talking in secret for months, now cbs news reporter. ara mergeiner says the white

. >>> nearly certain weeks after lynn spaldings body was found in a hospital stairwell her family is still waiting to find out how she died . the 57 year old was discovered in the remote stairwell at san francisco general more than two weeks after reported missing from her hospital room. the chronicle discovered more than 600 cases have been waiting more than three months for a cause of death. a spokesman for the spalding family is holding the head of the medical examiners office responsible for the backlog. >> dr. heart needs to work faster. not only on behalf of lynn spalding but frankly on behalf of the citizens of san francisco who are demanding better and faster help than this. it's outrageous. >> medical examiner dr. amy heart tells kpix 5 her department is dealing with staffing issues right now and that's the reason for the delays. >>> truckers at the port of oakland plan on striking the day before thanksgiving. they want more money to upgrade their trucks to meet new state air polution regulations. 804 workers will lose their jobs on january 1 if they don't upgrade. >> we got

lynn spalding was found and 17 days later her body was found.s mirkarimi said his deputies failed to search the hospital. >> the staff was expected to search stairwells and only half of the stairwells were searched. >> sheriff ross mirkarimi also said when lynn spalding first went missing the hospital incorrectlyily identified her as being african-american. >> they say recommendations are expected between 30 and 90 days. also refresher training is being provided to sheriff's deputies assigned to the hospital and administrators are exploring whether to expand contracts to help fill in the gaps. >>> she said she was sexually assaulted in the women's restroom of the school's media center. she also told police she knows her attacker and campus police are now investigating. >>> it has now been four years since the infamous gang rape of a high school student. the report says quote, there was an environment much sexual harassment and assaults by students that administrators failed to address. however it is not clear if the rape opted an investigation.

todo es en respuesta a la muerte de lynne spalding >> el próximo sábado se llevará día nacional en honorhía manifestaciones empezarán a la 1 de la tarde, en san francisco será en el parque juliard >> policía de san mateo presentó retrato hablado de hombre que presuntamente hizo comentarios de índole sexual a menor de 18 años. lo describen como filipino de 30 aÑos >> autobus tuvo que trasladar a pasajeros en valle de santa clara luego que tren se estrellara >> hombre de 16 años murió al intentar rampa que conecta autopista con otra ruta. 2 carros golpearon al peatón, el hombre murió en el lugar >> policía de oakland pide ayuda para localizar a hombre de 30 años que violó su libertad condicional. pesa unas 125 libras y es de cabello negro >> ex supervisor de condado de santa clara deberá pasar un año tras las rejas y 3 en libertad condicional, lo declararon culpable de uso de fondos públicos para gastos personales >> grupo de estudiantes y maestros se puso faltas para repudiar ataque de odio que sufrió un joven >> esta mañana los estudiantes demostraron que están en contra de la homofobia

, everybody has been looking for this man, who reported what he saw october 4th, two weeks after spalding hospital bed he told the nurse he saw the person lying on the stairs between three ready and 4th floors then, he left quickly the nursing supervisor notified a sheriff deputy to check it out. sheriff mirkarimi says deputies never did check that stairwell. the body was found four days later. the mystery person appears to be the only whoun saw the body during her

this is the result of fallout from the lynne spalding case.s the woman who was being treated at san francisco general hospital in september. her body was found in a hospital stairwell 17 days after she went missing. the woman disappeared september 21st. it wasn't until nine days later, a search was done. in a press conference. mirkarimi said october 4th, someone called to report a dead body in the stairwell. dispatch said we'll take care of it. that didn't happen. it wasn't until four days later, her body was discovered during a routine grounds check. she was close to being discharged. so deputies had no reason to consider her at risk. one policy change the sheriff has already implicated, any time a patient goes missing, a full search of the campus will be done. i'm told more changes are to come. we'll keep you posted tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. >>> new, a man is dead following a high speed crash near the antioch police station. the impact ripped the roof off the front of the suv. police say the victim was a 31- year-old