Sam Friel had lost 20 pounds, he was sunburned, and his blood sugar level was low, but he was otherwise OK, said Kathy Friel of Yuba City.

"I'm just so happy that he was safe," she said. "I don't think I could have taken another day."

Sam Friel, 20, was noticed by Merced Fire Department Chief Ken Mitten while a fire was being extinguished, according to a Merced police report. Mitten subsequently reported him to the police.

Merced police Cpl. Tony Aponte said Friel was "disoriented" when he was found by police Friday night. He was still wearing a Madera hospital wristband with his name on it.

After Friel was spotted by officers, he refused to acknowledge handwritten notes from the officers, police said.

However, the officers motioned for him to come to them, which he did without incident, his mother said.

Friel bolted July 25 from a Madera hospital where he had been taken for a mental health evaluation by Brooke Myers, director of Camp Pacifica, a summer camp where he was employed as a camp counselor.

Merced is about 35 miles south of Madera on Highway 99.

"I think he was ready (to stop running)," his mother said after he was found. "He told Brooke that he was scared and he didn't know what was going on. He didn't have an interpreter. He didn't know the people were looking for him."

While in the hospital, Friel had no access to a sign-language interpreter and did not understand why a guard had been assigned to watch him, his family said. When the guard went to get something to eat, Friel ran from the hospital.

Friends and co-workers, as well as Myers, searched for Friel, posting 3,000 fliers with his photo and a plea to report any sightings.

Before he ran away, Friel suffered from depression.

The family wants to be sure his needs are met, said his mother.

"Everything is going to be OK," Kathy Friel said. "He has a lot of people that love him."

She was thankful for all the work that went into locating her son.

"I don't know what I would have had to do if I had to deal with this alone," she said. "I was so thankful to them."

By Daniel Witter, Appeal-Democrat