Missing LV man, saying he has amnesia, returns home

Friday, Feb. 28, 2003 | 10:04 a.m.

A Las Vegas man who was missing for two weeks after his pickup truck plummeted over a cliff into the Pacific Ocean in Northern California, returned home on Feb. 21.

Donovan Lee Curtis crashed his truck on Highway 1 in Redwood City on Feb. 6, shortly after his wife in Las Vegas got a text message on her pager saying that Curtis was being carjacked, according to Bronwyn Hogan, spokeswoman for the San Mateo Sheriff's Office.

Upon his return to Las Vegas Curtis told investigators that he was cared for by a benevolent doctor who found Curtis dumped in his back yard in San Jose. Curtis was reportedly in a coma while the doctor cared for him, and when he recovered the doctor gave him money for a plane ticket to Las Vegas, Hogan said.

Authorities are trying to locate the doctor and determine exactly what happened, but Curtis claims he suffers from amnesia and cannot remember the details surrounding his disappearance.

He claims he does not recognize his wife, parents or children, Hogan said.

"The San Mateo Sheriff's Office will continue with the investigation as Curtis regains more of his memory," Hogan said.

Investigators found Curtis' truck partially submerged in the ocean after it fell 240 feet off the cliffs at Devil's Slide, known as a dangerous road, Hogan said.

Curtis had been working in Foster City at a construction company headquartered in San Francisco. He was living in a coastal RV park and would often return to Las Vegas on weekends.