IN BRIEF

NEWPORT BEACH -- A Newport Beach man suffering from dementia who was

missing most of Sunday was found that night nearly three miles from his

home.

Rinaldo Martini, 78, disappeared Sunday at about 8:05 a.m. from his Dover

Shores home. Family members called authorities when they couldn’t find

him and police officers began an extensive search in and around Newport

Beach.

Police were concerned about Martini because of his mental condition and

the freakish, windy weather. Family members patiently waited for word

from police about his whereabouts.

The phone call they were waiting for finally came at about 10:35 p.m.

when a police officer spotted Martini at the intersection of Production

Place and Placentia Avenue. Police didn’t give a reason why Martini had

left his home, but they said he had been walking all day.

“That was a fairly healthy walk,” said Newport Beach police Lt. Doug

Fletcher. “It’s not unrealistic to walk that distance, given the amount

of time he had.”

Martini was driven back to his home, where he was reunited with his

family.