SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) - A local wife and mother who vanished for three days was reunited with her family.
Crystal Chappell, 40, was found on Wednesday, in Tijuana, Mexico. She disappeared Sunday after leaving Octapharma Plasma Center in the Sports Arena area about 11:30 a.m. Sunday en route to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Camino del Rio South, according to San Diego police.
Chappell's husband, Jonathan, says his wife is safe in their Oak Park apartment. She returned home, following a medical evaluation. He says she remembers very little and remains in a fog.
"All she could tell me is leaving the plasma center and trying to get on the 8 and then a bright flash and next thing you know she's walking down to the highway and she sees a sign that says Rosarita all she could think of was getting home," he said.
Crystal's family is overjoyed that their mother is home. Jonathan told News 8 they finally found his wife at Sharp Hospital in Chula Vista after she was wandering in Mexico.
"I don't know how far it is from Rosarita to Tijuana, but she walked the entire distance. When I got her out of the hospital her clothes were torn. She said, 'I'm sorry, I just saw a flash--I don't have my ring'," he said.
Crystal was located Wednesday afternoon three days after her husband said she was last seen. Jonathan got a call from police saying that a family in Tijuana spotted Crystal sitting alone on the sidewalk. He says she is shaken up and not acting like herself.
Jonathan says their 20th wedding anniversary is Friday and he's looking forward to celebrating it with his wife, now that she's home.
San Diego police confirm that Crystal was medically evaluated and taken to the border to return to the U.S.
Jonathan insists this is out of character for Crystal and believes that she was forced against her will, even though San Diego detectives have not confirmed that.
Jonathan says they got home around 11 p.m. Wednesday night and, despite the mystery, the family is relieved.
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