Identified! CA - Carlsbad, LIVING WhtFem, 50s, amnesia, Feb'15 - Ashley Menatta

[T4Tide]

She looks like a chunky Britney Spears in that old photo. I would have never matched those two up.

I might be wrong, but usually people with true amnesia don't just go "oohhhh, yeah!" and all the sudden remember everything upon seeing a family member and being told of their history. I'd be willing to bet there's some degree of mental illness here before the cancer. MOO

 

[Nece]

So the news story with the woman in Arizona is true. She said she knew her by another name and that she would break into a British accent out of the blue even 20 years ago. Does anyone think she faked it? I'm not sure anymore but I'm glad she is back with family and is going to live with her sister.

 

[Nece]

She looks like a chunky Britney Spears in that old photo. I would have never matched those two up.

I might be wrong, but usually people with true amnesia don't just go "oohhhh, yeah!" and all the sudden remember everything upon seeing a family member and being told of their history. I'd be willing to bet there's some degree of mental illness here before the cancer. MOO

I agree and it seems the accent was something she would do even 20 years ago in Arizona. It does seem that she traveled to Australia on trips but I also think she had a very active "imaginary" life given the stories it seems she told. The woman from the church group said she was a writer or married to a writer which as far as I can see is not true or her her brain is really tripping.

 

[LadyL]

the Australia trips were most likely her imagination too

I'm glad that she has family who care for her & are willing to help her

 

[concernedmother]

I tried to see if she had a FB page but didnt find one.

 

[concernedmother]

Well Im glad this had a good ending.

 

[pinklilies]

I think she's probably been confused for a while as she told the lady from the church she was from Australia too. The lady from the church believed she was homeless although never asked for money so where had she been living I wonder, with other homeless people? Sad really, she maybe played the English accent so people wouldn't realise she was homeless? At least she's back with her family and will hopefully be well looked after and regain her health. That's what I wish for her.

 

[carbuff]

I think she's probably been confused for a while as she told the lady from the church she was from Australia too. The lady from the church believed she was homeless although never asked for money so where had she been living I wonder, with other homeless people? Sad really, she maybe played the English accent so people wouldn't realise she was homeless? At least she's back with her family and will hopefully be well looked after and regain her health. That's what I wish for her.

That's a possibility. The careful way she seems to have taken care of herself would also go with pride in not being thought homeless.

I tend to agree it sounds like there was some pre-existing mental or emotional difficulty.

 

[concernedmother]

Still alot of unanswered questions though. Was she living homeless? Did she have a job? Apartment? Belongings? These are things she would want to know.

 

[concernedmother]

Did she really have amnesia or living homeless, realized how sick she was and hoped her family would help her without asking for help?

 

[WyomingSkyAngel]

Hate to say it but a lot of mentally delicate people fabricate stories about themselves to cope with their unhappy lives, going without, loneliness, etc.

btw Medi-Cal will attempt to sue her estate to collect money for her cancer treatment. If she has no estate, they get nothing. & Trust me, Medi-Cal is not fantasy medical coverage. For certain ailments (cancer being one) the coverage is adequate but for non-life or death matters....it's the usual basic treatment or less than that.

There are many people like her out there, they just don't make the news, sadly.

 

[Tulessa]

This has been one strange GO Gi A YE Li ! We are getting some of the weirdest cases here lately..... :doorhide:

 

[human]

She lived in La Jolla? That is the most wealthy place in the US.

 

[LaborDayRN]

I'm glad this woman has family that will open their home for her during this difficult time. Stage three ovarian cancer is a rough diagnosis. Hopefully she can make some new memories with her loved ones.

 

[Froglady]

Yup. I'm baffled too lol. No husband, seems no job, no children, spent time couch surfing and I'm guessing time on the streets from other people's comments. How does one get the money to go sailing or flying to australia? There will be more to this I think but I doubt we will get to hear it.

 

[Fairy1]

I feel so sorry for this woman. If she faked anything - and I don't really believe she did - it was to get health care because she knew something was terribly wrong. I will be happy to see her reunited with her family and hope she will make a full recovery.

 

[Earth]

Well, at least she has her name back.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

I am usually good at identifying accents but this one stumps me.She does not sound Land of Aus or New Zealand to me at all. She sounds English, but is rhotic. For a sentence or so she sounds US southern. My best guess is, American or (less likely) Canadian, watched Masterpiece Theater a lot but did not get the accent down precisely. I don't think that is her real accent, because it is not consistent. I bet she will turn out to be from the southern US.
FWIW, the nearest accent I have heard to this is a woman from Scotland who I recently met in the Bahamas. She has lived in the islands for a long time.

Called it, except for the Southern part.

 

[pinklilies]

Called it, except for the Southern part.

Are you chasing a Blue Peter badge?

 

[Sandyuk]

There are still so many things bugging me about this case.
1. There are camera's at the traffic lights on the corner where she was found. She either walked or got a bus or someone dropped her off there. Coincidently its the same corner as the church she apparently attended.
2. If the police were investigating surely they would have asked at the church if anyone could identify her. If she attended the church why could only ONE person recognise her. She was in a Bible Group - what about the rest of the people in this group ? Coincidently this person new her as 'Sam' also.
3. She was obviously a member of the community yet NO-ONE recognised her ????
4. Her family have said they lost touch with her in 2013 !!! If I couldn't contact my family for 2 years I would be frantic !!!
5. She was from Flagstaff yet no-one recognised her.
6. She had been living in La Jolla, Vista and Carlsbad for the last 2 years yet no-one recognised her. If her family lost touch with her 2 years ago how do they know she had been living in these places ??
7. Where are her clothes ? We were never shown the clothes she was found in. In her interview why was she not wearing the clothes she was found in. They were good quality, they would have been laundered.
8. Can't find anything about this Debbie Rough that set up the Facebook page.......not even on Facebook.

Chicken1 how did you get on with your investigations regarding FBI and Firefighters that found her ??