Body found in S.F. hospital stairwell weeks after patient vanished

SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco hospital reported Tuesday that the body of a woman was found in a rarely used, exterior stairwell, more than three weeks after a patient vanished from her hospital bed.

A spokesperson for San Francisco General Hospital said the body has not yet been identified, and police could not confirm whether it was Lynne Spalding, 57, a mother who disappeared from her hospital room in the morning of Sept. 21.

Spalding, a British immigrant and San Francisco resident, was admitted to the hospital for complications from an infection. Since her disappearance, her family and friends have distributed hundreds of fliers, created a “Find Lynne” Facebook page and filed a missing person’s report with police.

A post on the Facebook page Tuesday said Spalding’s family and friends were “awaiting confirmation of some disturbing news about Lynne.” A local television station, KGO-TV, said a spokesman had confirmed the body was that of Spalding, but that spokesman did not return a telephone call from The Times.

Police and the coroner’s office also could not immediately confirm the report.

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Twitter: @mauradolan

maura.dolan@latimes.com