Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has revealed preliminary findings of an investigation into the disappearance of a San Francisco General Hospital patient who was found dead in an exterior stairwell of the facility more than two weeks later. While the investigation is not complete, the details Mirkarimi disclosed Wednesday reveal confusion over Lynne Spalding Ford's physical description, failure to properly search the stairwells, poorly functioning video equipment and other problems that could have contributed to her death. Surrounded by a dozen members of his command staff at a City Hall news conference, Mirkarimi said Spalding Ford, a "loving mother of two," could have been "anyone's loved one, which is why the severity of the situation is not lost on any of us."
