THOUSAND OAKS : Missing Ex-Professor Is Found on Campus

After wandering away from his Thousand Oaks home and spending the night outdoors, a retired Cal Lutheran University professor believed to have Alzheimer’s disease was found early Wednesday morning in an empty lot on the school’s campus.

Alvin Walz, a chemistry professor for 26 years before retiring in 1989, was reported missing by a live-in nurse about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after she noticed the front door ajar and could not find him in the house.

When police officers patrolling the area were unable to locate the 76-year-old man, a Ventura County sheriff’s helicopter, the county’s search and rescue team and the Thousand Oaks Disaster Assistance Response Team were brought in to help.

About 30 students and faculty of the university, alerted by security officers there, also began looking for Walz early Tuesday evening. Walz’s home is near the campus.

The search was called off at 2:30 a.m and resumed at dawn, when the helicopter began sweeping the area again.

A campus security officer on his daily rounds found Walz at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday. Lou Smilor was unlocking school offices along Faculty Drive when he saw a pair of feet sticking out from underneath brush in a vacant lot.

When police arrived, officers found Walz awake and lying on his back.

Walz, who suffered from mild dehydration, was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. He was discharged late Wednesday morning with his son.