the case of a woman found dd in a stairwell. the >>> errors by the hospital and by the sheriff's department in a case of a woman found dead in a stairwell. the troublesome time line that authorities are admitting to. >>> the bay area is plagued with car thieves. why the spike is happening now and where the cars are ending up. >>> and meteor sightings in southern california. what people are witnessing tonight. >>> good evening. >> authorities are admitting the search for a patient at san fransisco general hospital was botched from the very beginning and spiralled from there. her body was eventually found almost three weeks later. we have the series of errors that occurred. >> reporter: one that likely should have been looked at on day one, but wasn't. does this woman look black or asian? those were the first two in a series of epic blunders in the dis's peerns of lynne spalding. the problem started at 10:25 a.m. when her doctors and nurses grossly misidentified her. she's english. >> twice during the conversation, the deputy was

there is no indication that anyone was dispatched to that stairwell. >> i don't think they took this very seriously. >> reporter: the attorney for spalding's two children does not believe that authorities did much to try and find her. >> it just becomes more and more troubling. there is our public hospital. this puts the entire public at risk if this is happens when you go to the hospital in san francisco. >> reporter: the sheriff also went over some immediate changes happening in his department, starting with daily patrols of fire exit stairwells, plus new protocols for responding to alarms in the hospital. also reviewing the hospital security camera situation and adding and removing some staff members. in the news room, justin waltman, kron4 news. >> we received this statement from the 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 lynn spalding's family and friends to hear of the news. we owe it to them and all of our current and future patients to strengthen

stairwell. unsatisfactory. >> reporter: questions are to be answered. >> reporter: the family spokesperson says they have the that they cannot investigate themselves spirit of demanding an independent investigation. >> pam: in oakland. a 16- year old boy is arrested for allegedly setting someone on fire, while on an a-c- transit bus. >> pam: unnamed suspect is a student at oakland high school. the teen may be facing felony hate crime charges. he was originally booked on assault with a deadly weapon and mayhem. the victim, you see pictured for burns in the hospital. authorities say, the suspect may have targeted the victim, because he was wearing a kind of skirt. the alameda county district attorney will also have to decide. if the suspect will be charged as an adult. >> catherine: >> pam: new at 8-- >> pam: in just two days, thousands of people have already visited the new graton resort and casino in sonoma county. >> pam: it is now the largest casino in california. and the influx of visitors is

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 had been burned on an ac transit bus monday evening. it happened on 57 line here intersection of mcarthur. the 18-year-old was asleep. police say a local student lit the skirt on fire. fellow students know him as sasha. >> luke is an excellent student he

stairwells only about half of the stairwells were searched. >> reporter: hospital staff even calledency 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 campus. live in san francisco, ryan takeo, kpix 5. >> the lawyer representing the family also wants to know how or when spalding died. we called the coroner's office today and someone there told us that th

she disappeared from her room on september 21 and found dead in a stairwell. including the incorrect information initially given to deputies by the hospital workers. >> the deputy was told that the missing woman was african american and wearing a hospital gown. >> they don't seem to know who their patient was and they don't seem to have done much to find her. >> the the attorney for the spalding family said they were disturbed that the position said they were going to discharge her, but described her as confused and not safe to be on her own. >> to say that she was not at risk in one sentence and then to say she was confused and shouldn't be by herself in another sentence. that to me it is extraordinary and the big indifference. >> reporter: it took nine days before they requested deputies to search the entire 24-acre campus. >> but staff, they were directed to search them, only about half of the stairwells were searched. >> they learned that the police department's missing unit met with staff on october 1. concerned that spalding may have never left that site

she was discovered in the stairwell.hares deputy did not check that stairwell and the authorities have sought that mystery man to help put the pieces to this puzzle together. here's police chief greguhr. nobody was distracted. the fact that everybody kept asking. how do not find this guy. by finding this guy and be unable to have a conversation, it's one more person that can help us with our timeline. >>: hospital officials say police interview that man up last week. at this point it's unclear in what information he can provide other than that time line. authorities continue to investigate the spokesperson for when spaulding says he's upset because the mystery man it is in the medical profession and is still took three days to find her body. >>james: we will see what else they on cover. thank you mike. >>anny: will lead to wet and slippery on bay area rose three kron4's jackie sizzle is live and emeryville and has an update on the weather out there >>: it's looking wet out here. the rain had started to come down more ste

her body was found in a stairwell 17 days after she went missing.he 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 typhoon triggered landslides, damaged homes, and knocked out power lines. communication has been cut off so the full extent of the damage is not quite ful

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 learned that the m is industry man is a visit ago doctor from india who is now working at ucsf in san francisco general. and police have questioned him. >> it just is another element of astonishment. to michlt he's the spalding family lawyer. >> here we are less than 19th of november and now

: the next day was determined that not all stairwells had been searched. on october 4th, the sheriff says that someone reported seeing a person lying on the landing in the third and fourth floor stairwell number 8. >> there is no indication that anyone was dispatched to that stairwell. >> reporter: the attorney representing spalding-ford's family was at the press conference and said today's information is troubling. >> just becomes more and more troubling that now they're looking for an african-american woman or looking for an asian woman, they don't seem to know who their patient was. hospital officials say that they will be releasing a statement later today. we're waiting on that. the sheriff also says that there will be sweeping changes here at the hospital. we'll tell you more about that coming up at 6:00. reporting live in san francisco, i'm cheryl herd, nbc bay area news. >>> a possible hate crime. investigators are looking to see if that is what provoked a 16-year-old to set another teenager on fire onboard an ac transit bus back on monday. 18-year-

and he said wrong stairwell. thank you for letting me in. and then said looks like there is someone further down maybe asleep or not sure. but looks like there is someone down there. >> the man then left quickly. the person he referred to presumably lynn spalding was laying on the stairs the nursing supervisor notify aid sheriff's dispatcher. he said he would check it out the sheriff said his deputies never check that had stairwell. 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 stateme

the search did not include all the stairwells. >> reporter: on october 1, now 10 days later an attempt to clean up the lazy search proved just as sloppy. >> only about half of the stairwells were searched. >> reporter: and on october 4, 14 days later, the asleep at the wheel search for lynne could have been cracked only to be ignored. >> there was somebody laying on the landing in the third or fourth floor of the 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 october 8th, 17 days after her disappearance, that lynne was found by someone checking locks. in san francisco, andria borba, kpix 5. >>> a mother in sunnyvale is looking forward to having her baby boy returned to her from arizona after he was found safe in mexico. police say henry's father kidnapped him tuesday after an argument with the mother. despite a statewide amber alert, 22-year-old mesut guler made it across the border into mexico where he was arrested. officers say the father threatened to harm

. >>> a woman found dead in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital explains the series of missteps that has the sheriff's department facing a shake up. >> a shake up is ahead for san francisco general hospital. >> there will be staffing changes. >> san francisco sheriff said the changes are in response to the failed search for hospital patient lynn spaulding. she was found 17 days later. the sheriff described missteps including misinformation. they were told she was african-american and wearing a hospital gown. >> they don't seem to have done to which find her. >> 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 1s

. >> the woman's body was found later in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital. kpix 5 reporter ryan takeo on a major embarrassment for the hospital and the sheriff's department. ryan. >> reporter: allen and liz, there were a lot of mistakes along the way. one was the search. there was a nine-day delay after lynne spalding went missing and it was a very thorough search at that. 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 dispat

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 someone laying on the landing in the third or fourth floor of the stairwell eight. the communications center staff responded, we'll take care of it. there is no indication that anyone was dispatched to that stairwell. >> reporter: but why? who? the sheriff says his staff would attempt to answer questions but did not stick around long. or varied from the script. >> reporter: sheriff mirkarimi did not touch upon where the family has yet to receive an autopsy report. >> i think it's just the kind of rhetoric that you expect to hear, we're sorry. we're looking into it. we're going to do all we can so it doesn't happen again. it doesn't help two kids left without a mother. >> reporter: this afternoon, san francisco general hospital weighed in on t

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 someone laying on the landing in the third or fourth floor of the stairwell eight. the communications center staff responded, we'll take care of it. there is no indication that anyone was dispatched to that stairwell. >> reporter: but why? who? the sheriff says his staff would attempt to answer questions but did not stick around long. or varied from the script. >> reporter: sheriff mirkarimi did not touch upon where the family has yet to receive an autopsy report. >> i think it's just the kind of rhetoric that you expect to hear, we're sorry. we're looking into it. we're going to do all we can so it doesn't happen again. it doesn't help two kids left without a mother. >> reporter: this afternoon, san francisco general hospital weighed in on t

next at 5:00 a big development tonight in the case of a woman found dead in the hospital stairwell.orward, it's a story only on abc7 news. >> plus, rainy roads and a good soaking right now. >> and it's far from over. i'm sandhya patel and will have the latest with live doppler seven hd, coming up. >> also ahead a bay area retailer calls a truce in what some see as a war on we're tracking the rain tonight. bad news if you're trying to get home. >> good news for the reservoirs. this is a live picture looking at the bay. >> good evening. i'm cheryl jennings. >> let's get to sandhya patel with a look at conditions right now. sandhya? >> yes. we're looking at wiper weather now across a good part of the bay area. taking a look at live doppler seven hd. we'll talk about where it's raining and where it's heading. you can see we have our own radar on mount st. helena. it's watching pockets of rain between ukiah and z.hopland. you can see yellow showing up. we're watching that, that is the latest batch that developed in the east bay. light returns towards hayward and oakland. san francisco, i

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 hearing is to try to get to the bottom of the fatal accident. after the two workers were killed -- bart permanently dropped a controversial safety protocol. known as "simple approval". the new rules will allow mainte

found dead in a stairwell the witness saw her lying there, reported it, yet no one followed up. a major development only on abc7 news. >> reporter: sources cross to the 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 c

there w will be working to the exterior stairwell. so based on the proposed drawing and site visits by the staff and the project sponsor we believe that the project does meet the secretary exterior standards, however, the staff is asking for some standards that are outlined in the report and the justification but for the public i'll run through some of the conditions of approval and if you have any questions, we'll be happy to answer them after my preparation presentation all work must be complete as part of the approval including the expansion of the house elevation of the main believe to roar restore the major roofline. second if it's determined that more than 50 percent of the exterior shingles listed in the scope of work is required than a full continuing condition assessment shall be for review and approval at a regularly scheduled hearing. this is for the dulling gesture building we were unaware of the condition of the site. the third condition is the brick surface of the stairwell will retain unfinished to preserve the characte

the man told the nurse, he saw a person, lying in the stairwell. he then left quickly never identifying himself. the nursing supervisor notified a sheriff's dispatcher that said that deputies would check it out. but the sheriff admitted two weeks ago they dropped the ball. >> there was no indication that anyone was dispatched to the stairwell. >> the researcher told him that he was on the fifth floor of the stairwell and the unconscious person was between the third and fourth floors. the man added, he did not go near it or touch or move the person and that he did not know if she was dead or alive. investigators say that she was definitely dead by that time and that her body would have been badly decomposed. he said that he did not detect that. investigators tell us, that was the extent of what he knew. san francisco police say, they have now completed their probe. the only thing they are waiting for is a medical examiner's report on the cause of death. >> i'm very curious to read the medical examiner's report. it's outrageous that we do not have it

whose body was found in a s f general hospital stairwell last month.ss admits his apartment miss spot during peak research or during this search. >> reporter: heiress never looked in that lot stairwell when lance spaulding was about. was found. >> reporter: from breakdowns in communications to broken security cameras for the first time in sarah francisco sheriff ross and its a lot of things went wrong while searching for land spalding lynn spalding. >> reporter: the biggest bombshell we heard this afternoon. sheriff stepped deputies never searched the locks there were all at the hospital where spaulding was found dead. the sheriff went over a time line of what happened starting the day she disappeared from her hospital room. it was more than a week after she was reported missing. the hospital officials asked deputies to search the entire hospital. the house the assurance admitted deputies only looked and half of the stairwells at the hospital. the share also said logbooks first miss identified spalding as african american woman and asian woman spauldin

and he said wrong stairwell. thank you for letting me in. and then said looks like there is someone further down maybe asleep or not sure. but looks like there is someone down there. >> the man then left quickly. the person he referred to presumably lynn spalding was laying on the stairs the nursing supervisor notify aid sheriff's dispatcher. he said he would check it out the sheriff said his deputies never check that had stairwell. 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 stateme

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 morning. police told us the victim was a 31-year-old man from antioch. we do no

her body was found in a stairwell 17 days after she was missing. nine days passed before a search was done. sheriff mirkarimi admitted only half the stairwells were checked. someone called to report a dead body in the stairwell on october 4th. dispatch said they will take care of it but that did not happen. four days later, her body was found. one policy change the sheriff has done, any time a patient at general goes missing, a full search of the missing will be done. >>> b.a.r.t. says it may have to reduce operating hours because of new track maintenance rules that were adopted following the deaths of two workers. one official said the new rules are going to be disruptive to service. hours of operation and the b.a.r.t. budget. one union leader called for a criminal investigation into the workers' deaths last month as they were inspecting the tracks. >>> we're live in berkeley where high school students are coming together in support of a classmate aboard a a.c. transit bus and burned. >>> some parents are unhappy about a policy about head lice. >>

. >>> the family of the woman whose body was found in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital is responding this morning to a new claim by the attorney for the sheriff's deputies who are being questioned in this case. yesterday the attorney questioned claims that a witness spotted an unresponsive woman inside this stairwell that wasn't used very often. that was days before lynn spalding's body was found. her family released this statement saying, in part, "this is yet another story about this baffling and troubling case which seems more intent on protecting the reputation of people in whose care lynne was placed and less about getting to the truth. none of it explains how a woman admitted for and under treatment for a non-life-threatening illness ended p dead and neglected for 17 days on a stairwell of san francisco general hospital." >>> a suspect remains on the run this morning after leading police on a chase throughout the south bay. that chase started about 10:30 last night at the intersection of fair oaks avenue and central expressway in sunnyvale. chp joined that pursuit in

. >> well, lyn spalding's body was found in a stairwell about two weeks after she went missing from sanncisco general hospital, but, of course, she should have been found on day one, but a series of errors kept that from happening. >> does this woman look black or asian? those were the first two in a series of epic blunders in the disappearance of lyn spalding. the 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,

on a story abc7 news broke yesterday mystery man saw a person lying in a san francisco hospital stairwell who two weeks after lynn spalding disappeared has come forward. >> we learned what the witness told investigators now, vic lee with the story you'll see only on abc7. vic? >> reporter: our sources told us the man is a doctor from inda. he's not licensed here but ucsf confirms he's working as a researcher at that hospital. investigators were hoping he can provide important information since he seems to be the only one who saw lynn spalding during her 17 day disappearance. unfortunately that, did not happen. 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

he says october 4th someone called to report a dead body in the stairwell. dispatch says we'll take care of it but that didn't happen. it wasn't until four days later that spaulding's body was discovered. now, according to doctors, 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 that more changes are to come and we'll, of course, keep you posted. live from san francisco, tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> happening now in san jose, families are lining up to register for the sacred heart holiday program which gives away free food for families and toys for children. they've been lining up since yesterday afternoon. a lot of families slept outside overnight just to be able to sign up. we talked to a woman. she's been in line since 3:30 this morning. she says this program will help feed her family for thanksgiving. >> i know not a lot of people have the time or, you know, want to come

person who notified personnel at san francisco general hospital of the presence of a woman in the stairwell has come forward. according to a hospital folks person, that person is a traveling doctor working as researcher. what did you learn? >> reporter: this researcher is a foreign national. he lives here in san francisco. police say this man is not a suspect and has been helping them out. >> now he can give his account, and that's one more loose end that's tied up. >> san francisco police chief is on the phone with kron 4 news. he says the person who came forward is a researcher from either egypt or india and occasionally makes rounds. san francisco police say this mystery man contacted them last week after seeing a flyer asking about the case. >> the fact that everybody kept asking, how could you not find this guy. by find 3rd inning guy and being able to have the conversation, you know, it's one more person that can help us with our timeline. >> reporter: according to hospital officials, the mystery man spotted spalding in the stairwell in early october, two weeks after she had been repo

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 piece of trash on the stairwell in san francisco general for 17 days, and the organization ch

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 that he hopes of this will help put some of the pieces together to find allies took them to one-half of orson find her. the family stated very irritated because the man is a medical field and it should not have taken them three additional days after he reported seeing her body. >> happening now, union workers at several u-c medical centers are holding a one- day strike. >> unions are calling on bart to on a labor contract that its members voted to approve last month. the presidents of the local stated that bart board of directors need to honor their word.

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 piece of trash on the stairwell in san francisco general for 17 days, and the organization ch

. >>> good evening, new information about what a witness who saw a missing woman in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital told police. 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

her hospital room september 21st. 17 days later her body was found in a stairwell.tigation which deputies gave to staff. >> twice during that conversation they said the missing woman was african- american and wearing a hospital gown. >>> when sheriff ross mirkarimi said they looked, they were only looking at half of the stairwells. they will have an independent review and recommendations on that is expected in 30 to 90 days. >> refresher training is now being provided to the deputies assigned to the hospital. >> they are looking to expand private security contracts to help fill in the gaps. they are admiring an assisted living facility and they are own had by the manor spring in caster valley. they had abandoned sick and elderly patients and they want to make sure the same thing does not happen in mad defendant tow. they will -- med department of tow -- mad defendant tow. >>> a man is accused of setting a young man on fire. had the oakland high school student was arrested and he is suspected of burning luke flier man on the bus. he also goes by the name of sasha and

. >>> a man who saw a patient in a san francisco general hospital stairwell.night, the hospital said that police have interviewed a witness who now admits to seeing lin's body in a stairwell. he is a ucsf recher that works on the campus. her body was found four days later. she disappeared from her hospital room, several weeks earlier. tonight, san francisco general released a statement saying we are very pleased to report this progress in the case. it will get us closer to learning all the facts about what happened to lynne spaulding so that we can take whatever steps are necessary to make sure it does not happen again. >>> the space ship is cleared for landing and construction begins tomorrow. the city council approved the plans. that means more green for the city. the city gave the annual tax break a cut. that means that coopertino will get more money every year. tonight, city officials approved doubling the parking rate to $2 an hour. drivers will pay to park on sundays now and parking enforcement will go until 8:00. >>> the city of oakland stepping up and

. >>> good evening, new information about what a witness who saw a missing woman in a stairwell at san francisco general hospital told police. 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 sh

. >>> they are looking for a patient found dead in a stairwell.ng was found and 17 days later her body was found. sheriff ross 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

he apparently reported seeing lynn spaulding lying in a stairwell several days before her body was found in early october. police have questioned the witness but have not identified him. >>> the east oakland youth group behind a successful gun buyback program last year is announcing plans today for an even bigger one in the bay area's three largest city. the group helped get 600 dwuns off the street the -- guns off the street the day after the sandy hook elementary shooting last december 14th. this december 14th, it will cohost a new buyback in oakland. the group has launched a crowd- funding campaign through gunbygun.org to pay for the buyback. >>> san francisco, san jose, and los angeles will also participate. this is video of some of the guns turned in during one of san jose's two gun buybacks in march of this year. more than 1700 guns were turned over at that event. tonight a launch party is scheduled at 5:30 at rosy mccann's irish pub on santana row to kick off the program. >>> a new warning today about the impacts of not expanding runways at san francisco international airport. jac

body was discovered in a stairwell. the coroner is still working on the cause of her death. >>> menlo park police are looking for a specific witness in a dui accident that killed two people that happened last month on chilco street. 54-year-old marjorie reitzell was allegedly drunk when she struck and killed a couple out walking their dog. officers are now looking for a white male driving a white ford explorer. they believe that man may have witnessed the accident. >>> more than 20 vehicles have been stolen in alameda county in just the past week. the number of stolen vehicles is up 14% compared with 2012. among the cities hardest hit san leandro. most end up at chop shops where they are sold off for parts. others are crimes of opportunity. >> you leaf your car idling -- leave your car idling in the morning to warm up, it's stolen abandoned and we find it a few days later. >> honda accords from the 1990s are most often targeted by thieves. nationwide the number of auto thefts rose last year after eight years of decline.

she is the one month found dead in a hospital stairwell earlier this month.lly, talked with san francisco police about their investigation. >> they are investigating into whether and not a crime has been committed one possibility has not ruled out yet is that someone mauve or hit her body. >> right now he is working on establishing a time line on the day the patient is appeared appear a lot. la >> the inspectors say that the man who reported seeing the woman in the stairwell is not a suspect. >> the pipeline ends on october 8th when a worker found her body in the stairwell. >> investigators are trying to find out if that stairwell was ever checked before the lady's body was found. >> despite working this case every day the investor is working other cases as well. >> the sheriff to promise a preliminary reports will be expected in the next week or so. >> bart trains have been running for a week and a half but the agreement that ended the strike is still not official. tomorrow bart to union members will vote on of the tentative deal. >> you members are consider

finally, an unidentified man saw a body in the stairwell and told a staff member. the deputies did nothing about it. 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. im

who went missing then turned up dead in a stairwell 17 days later. an attorney representing five members of the sheriff's office alleging the story of a hospital employee seeing someone in the stairwell is all made up. >> i think think there was anybody that ever came and said hey, there was a dead pod body. i certainly haven't heard anything credible that seems to suggest that really happened. i think that's somebody's phantasiast fact. >> the sheriff's department provides sturt saying the hospital is cooperating with all investigations surrounding the case. livermother police sgt.ing burglaries that happened in the past week. going in and leave. cleaning out the availables in 15 minutes. and when no one answers finding a way to break in. >>> in less than 30 minutes here the pleasant hill city council will meet in the regulation meeting gun sales. how close gun stores can be located to parks, stores and day kay providers. and stores would also be required to install surveillance cameras. >>> going before voters in sunnyvale. notify police within 48

four days later lynn spalding's body was found in the stairwell two weeks after being reported missing. the doctor came forward after he saw a flyer at the hospital and realized he is who they were looking for. >> now the forecast. rain this morning. showers later today. mike if. >> absolutely. there is light-to-moderate rain in piedmont right there at hampton road. the whole area between 580 and 13 getting wet. we will slide to the southwest a little bit and you can see alameda shoreline drive, pacific avenue, lincoln avenue, light-to-moderate rain. as far as the bigger picture with all this moving rapidly to the east, san leandro should be there in six minutes, san ramon 20 minutes, dublin, 29, and it will pass over castro valley in 10 minutes. there will be ponding on 580. big picture, it is all moving off to the east and it is starting into snow. we will are snow in the sierra down to 7,000'. here is the day manner: steady rain is falling and rain will turn to scattered showers at noon which will hang around for the better part of 4:00 and, also, 7:00. we will not be completely dri

finally an unidentified man saw a body in the stairwell and told a staff member.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 rods from a crippled reactor there. the reactor was badly damaged in 2011 when a powerful tsunami hit the region. the total cost of the cleanup is estimated to be around $50 billion. the nati

deputies were notified, but they never checked the stairwell.he body was found two weeks later. >> now somebody comes forward, a doctor, and says i was the one that saw her and did nothing more than say so to somebody that let him in out of a locked door? i can't fathom the thinking. >> the hospital tells abc7 news the doctor came forward after he saw a flier at the hospital and realized that he must be the one investigators were looking for. >>> the city of cupertino approved apple's plan to build a massive new headquarters tonight. the city will give apple a 4.4 million dollar tax break each year saying the benefits far outweigh the costs. the 2.8 million square foot building will hold more than 14,000 employees. >>> should only less attractive female be used to recruit women soldiers? the comments are drawing fire. abc7 news reporter lisa amin gulezian on what that officer had to say and how people are responding to it. >> it is offensive. >> why are we talking about women's attractiveness if we talk about military service? >> that's what wom