Westchester Amnesiac Found In Chicago

An amnesiac who left behind his family in August has been found living as a homeless man in Chicago, apparently unaware of his former life back in New York:

Raymond Power Jr. stepped out of his life some time on Aug. 1, 2005, the last day he awoke in Westchester County as a lawyer and New Rochelle resident, a 57-year-old husband and father of two, a Boy Scout leader and churchgoer.

Within two days, he had stumbled into a new, uncertain and evidently unwanted life: as a homeless man in Chicago who could remember nothing of his former existence but for a semblance of his name: Jay Tower.

Earlier this week, Mr. Power, who is apparently suffering from a severe case of amnesia, was found after a homeless friend discovered his picture on “America’s Most Wanted” Web site.

His wife, Jane, and the couple’s two children, 11 and 17, were overjoyed. But as he undergoes tests at a Chicago hospital before his return, they are bracing for what comes next.

“He doesn’t know who we are,” said Mrs. Power, his wife of 30 years, who has spoken with him on the phone. “He said, ‘Do I have children?’ and I said, ‘Yes, you have two children.’ Our prayers have been answered but yet they are very sad that he doesn’t know who they are and also very scared.”

In a telephone interview, Mrs. Power said that her husband, a Vietnam War veteran, had been treated for depression since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, both with medication and counseling.

Mr. Power walked between the two towers 15 minutes before the first plane hit, she said, but was on board a subway bound for the Bronx when the attack took place. She believes that Sept. 11 dredged up painful memories of Vietnam.