Stuntman Who Vanished Found by Son in Chance Encounter Outside Eatery

Five days after stuntman Ron Nix disappeared from his home in Phoenix, his son spotted him by chance Friday on the streets of San Diego, walking into a fast-food restaurant for a bite of salad.

The discovery ended a draining week for the Nix family, who found Nix’s car at Phoenix International Airport Aug. 19 after he failed to show up for a business meeting. Over the next few days, Nix sent two rambling and depressing letters to his wife, two daughters and son.

A noted stuntman and actor who had appeared in dozens of films and television shows, 47-year-old Nix flew to San Diego on Aug. 19 and began work the next day at a construction job, remodeling a new home.

His son, one of his daughters and five friends put flyers on telephone poles and buildings throughout the city Friday and talked to cabbies who might have seen the stuntman.

Sitting in a rented van Friday evening, watching the sun sink as his friends tacked a few dozen more posters wherever they could find space, Ron Nix Jr. glanced over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of someone familiar walking into a Jack in the Box restaurant.

Nix ran over to his father and threw his arms around him.

“It was an emotional scene,” said Mary Nix, who had been frantic over her missing husband. “Ron said he was ready to come home. He had had an emotional breakdown.”

After the disappearance, police departments in San Diego and Phoenix were contacted, but there was little they could do. Although Nix was technically a missing person, he had contacted his family by letter from San Diego twice, laying out his frustrations about past bad business decisions.

Nix had checked into a downtown TraveLodge on Aug. 19, spending his spare time feeding the pigeons at the Embarcadero.

His letters, described by his son as “a cry for help,” noted that he would be sending his wife power of attorney and gathering money from his job to send to his family.

Seven friends and members of his family joined in the search Friday, and four more groups of people who had worked with him at Hollywood studios were getting ready to come to San Diego on Saturday.

The depression and disappearance reminded his family of an experience in 1983, the year Nix fell from a tower while performing a stunt in Arizona. The accident crushed both his legs, and he was so deeply morose that lithium had been prescribed to alter his mood.

He had a similar breakdown this time, Mary Nix said, and left for San Diego “to take the burden off of us. He thought he was unable to make business decisions. He had lost control,” she said.