Police sent Morro Bay man to hospital for care. He was found dead in SLO creek 8 days later
By Mackenzie Shuman | (San Luis Obispo) Tribune
A Morro Bay man was found dead in a San Luis Obispo creekbed on Wednesday — eight days after he had called the police for help and was arrested for public intoxication, according to officials.
The man, 37-year-old Michael Shepherd, called the Morro Bay Police Department on Feb. 7 and reported that there were three people in his house that he didn’t know, according to Commander Amy Watkins.
When police officers arrived at his home, they couldn’t find Shepherd or the three people he said were there, Watkins wrote in an email response to Tribune questions. The officers were able to reach Shepherd on his phone and soon found him walking about a half-mile away from his home in Morro Bay, according to Watkins.
Shepherd appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Watkins said.
“The officers evaluated (Shepherd) and based on his behavior and admission of alcohol consumption, they determined he was unable to care for his safety and placed (Shepherd) under arrest for public intoxication and transported him to the County Jail,” Watkins wrote in her email to The Tribune. “At the jail, medical staff evaluated (Shepherd) and based on his symptoms, contacted San Luis Ambulance for medical transport to Sierra Vista hospital.”
Shepherd was reportedly sweating and shaking, according to Watkins.
Shepherd agreed to go to the hospital, so the police released him from their custody and issued him a citation for public intoxication, Watkins said.
San Luis Ambulance then transported him to the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, according to Watkins. A Morro Bay police officer did not accompany him on the ride to the hospital, Watkins added.
Six days later, on Monday, Shepherd’s girlfriend reported him missing to the Morro Bay Police Department, Watkins said.
The department then reached out to the hospital to ask about the care he received there and if he was admitted, but “the hospital was unable to provide the officer with any information about Shepherd due to HIPAA restrictions,” Watkins wrote in her email.
HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a federal law that protects sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.
Two days later, on Wednesday, Shepherd was found dead in a creekbed near the hospital.
When exactly Shepherd died is “difficult to determine because of the different environmental factors where the body was found,” San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s and Coroner’s Office spokesperson Tony Cipolla wrote in an email to The Tribune.
His cause of death is still under investigation, according to San Luis Obispo Police Department Capt. Brian Amoroso.
Shepherd leaves behind a 16-year-old son, according to his girlfriend’s family.
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