A search and rescue that cost more than 1,000 hours of effort paid off Friday afternoon when a Topanga Canyon record producer was found, naked and delusional, not far from his house.
Christian Julian Irwin, 48, was reported missing by friends who had recieved two panicky phone calls six days earlier. Irwin had told his friends that he was being chased by Nigerian internet scammers and that he was hiding in rough terrain in Topanga Creek below his house.
A Topanga resident spotted Irwin Fridau in the creek washing his jeans less than a half mile from his house.
The witness flagged down a passing Long Beach Police officer who had been brought into the canyon with his police dog to search for the man, deputies said, and the pair spoke with and identified Irwin.After two hours of negotiations Irwin consented to see paramedics, who told deputies Irwin was uninjured except for slight dehydration. Deputies said Irwin was agitated, delusional, and not able to take care of himself, and was hospitalized.
