The mother of the missing woman put these posters up in areas where she believes her daughter has been spotted.
A woman who walked away from the Nueva Vista group home on Crest Avenue Friday morning had not returned by Wednesday afternoon, and her mother was in town from Paso Robles looking for her for two days without success.
Kiesha Bretz, 37, was a patient at the home when she signed the log-out sheet and left. When her mother tried to reach her Sunday night, no one seemed to know where she was, her mother said.
Cheryl Camp, Bretz's mother, said she talked to several different people before she found out her daughter had been gone for a few days.
Bretz, who has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, had been without her medication for those days.
"When one of your children has a disability, it's like a solid core of pain that never goes away," she said. "Sometimes you cope, sometimes it breaks you, it's just there. And for that person to then go missing, it's just unbelievable painful, you just can't imagine."
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Camp and her daughter-in-law combed the area around the home looking for the woman. They spent time in and around the 7-Eleven store, the Morgan Hill plaza where several people reportedly had seen her the day before or a couple of days before, and in Galvan Park, where she had also been seen.
"It's frustrating because I know she must be here somewhere, we're just in the right place at the wrong time," she said.
The pair spread posters all over the area and visited the police station to learn what else they could do. They were told officers would be on the lookout for her.
"I just hate to leave, knowing she's still here," she said, as she and her daughter-in-law were leaving for Paso Robles Wednesday afternoon. She asked that if anyone sees her daughter to contact her at (805) 674-4363 or call Nueva Vista.
The facility's assistant administrator, Adam Dick, said it is a private, licensed facility with 60 residents right now though they are licensed for 72. He said there is a very specific policy on how employees are to act if a patient does not return by the 10 p.m. curfew. He said patients sign out to visit family and friends and do some shopping, some of them have jobs outside the facility but there is also a resident employee program.
Christopher Zubiate, president of Psynergy Programs, the company that owns the facility, said that he sympathizes with Camp's frustration, but that by law there are certain things family members and guardians can and cannot be told.
"I can certainly understand the frustration on her point, but by law, I can't do anything," he said. "Our procedures are pretty tight, they are reviewed and on file with the local police department."
There are state regulations and requirements regarding persons who are "conserved," or under the care of a conservator and guardian, and Psynergy Programs retains an attorney to review their policies and procedures to insure they are in compliance.
Once a client is out past the curfew, he said, facility staff will try to locate them before contacting the police. Often they are at a favorite hangout or have gone to family. Probably 99 percent of the patients reported missing will return later that same night or early the next morning, he added.
Marilyn Dubil Marilyn Dubil is a freelance writer for The Times.
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