Three days after being reported missing, actress Margot Kidder was discovered dazed in a back yard, and one witness said it appeared her two front teeth were knocked out.
Kidder, 47, was found Tuesday in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale and taken to a hospital for observation.The Canadian-born actress, who played Lois Lane in the "Superman" movies but more recently has battled health problems, appeared "frightened and paranoid" and was in "obvious mental distress," Glendale police Sgt. Rick Young said.
Kidder was last seen at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday night, waiting for a flight to Phoenix, said Burbank police Lt. Duane Dow.
But she didn't get on the flight and her publicist reported her missing that night to Burbank police.
When Kidder was found, it appeared two of her front teeth had been knocked out, said Glendale homeowner William Minarik.
"It wasn't something that happened right here locally. She was traveling a long distance and just happened on this place and was concerned someone may be following her," Minarik said.
A representative for Kidder did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
Her career peaked in the 1970s and '80s with the "Superman" series. She also appeared in "The Great Waldo Pepper," "The Amityville Horror" and other films.
But a 1990 accident while filming a television series left Kidder occasionally confined to a wheelchair and in persistent pain because of neck injuries, she said.
She told People magazine in 1992 that she took pills to ward off the pain, but those left her mind "muddied." Surgery eventually solved Kidder's physical ailment, but toppled her into bankruptcy when her insurer refused to pay her bills, according to the magazine.
It said she was broke and living in a one-bedroom apartment near Hol-ly-wood.
Her "Superman" co-star has also lived with tragedy: Christopher Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down in a horse-riding accident last May.