Man found 4 days after being booted from train

updated 11:15 p.m. ET June 29, 2007

PHOENIX - A dazed Missouri man was found wearing only boxer shorts and a sock four days after being removed from an Amtrak train in northern Arizona for unruly behavior, authorities said Friday.

Roosevelt Sims, 65, was incoherent when he was found Thursday night in a forested area about a mile or two from the train stop. “I think he was really confused and disoriented about where he was,” said Lt. Mark Christian of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.

Sims, of St. Louis, reportedly was headed to Los Angeles to visit family. An Amtrak spokesman said Sims was escorted off the Southwest Chief train Sunday night after he began acting strangely and refused to calm down.

“The person was reported by our conductors to be unruly, disruptive and unwilling to take direction from the conductor to bring his behavior to a level that was not disruptive,” said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari, who added that the company followed standard procedure.

Sims then fled from police into nearby woods. Christian said police conducted a limited search after Sims disappeared, but searchers didn’t become involved until the man’s family asked for help on Thursday. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. The hospital said Friday he was no longer a patient.

Family members told the St. Louis Post Dispatch that Sims had recently been diagnosed with diabetes and may have been suffering the effects of diabetic shock. Sims’ wife, Ida, declined comment Friday when contacted by The Associated Press.

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