San Francisco ( CNN ) -- She checked herself into a hospital weeks ago for a bladder infection . But nobody could have predicted it would end like this . When Lynne Spalding went missing from San Francisco General Hospital , her friends frantically searched and left messages on a Facebook page to keep each other hopeful . On Tuesday , the messages on the `` Find Lynne '' Facebook page turned from hope to anger . A body was found in an exterior stairwell of the hospital , and the San Francisco medical examiner confirmed Thursday that it is Spalding , also known as Lynne Ford . How could this be ? Spalding 's friends had searched throughout San Francisco , in alleys and shelters , handing out hundreds of fliers . They wondered whether the woman , dazed by powerful medication , was wandering around somewhere . `` So we have a lot of questions as her family and friends , '' said David Perry , a Spalding family spokesman . `` Did anyone see her leave the room ? Did she leave alone ? Is there videotape of Lynne leaving the hospital or wandering the halls ? '' All who looked for Spalding , 57 , who has two adult children , assumed the hospital had been searched thoroughly . `` Dumbfounded that they did n't find her for two weeks ? ! Where the hell were they looking ? ! '' Liz Kennedy wrote on the `` Find Lynne '' website . `` I honestly believe there should be an investigation into how the hospital areas were not thoroughly checked by the staff , '' another poster named Sunil Raj wrote . Hospital officials and police say they are investigating . The hospital says it has no idea how the body ended up in the rarely-used staircase . `` We 're distressed , '' Rachael Kagan , a spokeswoman for San Francisco General Hospital , told CNN affiliate KTVU . `` We do n't know what happened . That 's our top priority , is to find that out . '' Spalding was admitted to the hospital on September 19 , and her condition was improving when she disappeared two days later , according to the joint statement released by the hospital and sheriff 's department . `` She was in fair condition when she left her hospital room shortly after being checked on by a nurse at 10:15 a.m. Fifteen minutes later , the nurse checked on her again , and upon finding her room empty , initiated a search of the hospital , '' the statement said . Thirty minutes later after she disappeared , two of her friends and her boyfriend arrived at the hospital to visit , Perry said . They were told that Spalding had been missing for 30 minutes , Perry said . `` Someone has died in a mysterious fashion at San Francisco General Hospital , an institution which is known for healing , '' Perry said . `` And tonight I 'm sure the staff of SF General is horrified and confused , certainly the family is horrified and confused . '' According to the joint statement , when the patient was not found , the hospital staff notified the family and sheriff 's department officials on site . Deputies searched the campus , and did not find her . Corpse found in L.A. hotel 's water tank . Spalding 's body was discovered in the stairwell by a member of the hospital 's engineering staff who was conducting a routine quarterly check , according to the statement . `` The exterior stairwell is a fire exit that is not routinely used by staff , patients or the public . It is alarmed and locks from the outside ; it exits to the hospital grounds at the bottom , '' it said . CNN 's Lateef Mungin wrote and reported from Atlanta , and Dan Simon reported from San Francisco .
The body was found during a routine quarterly check , officials say . Lynne Smith is missing from San Diego General Hospital . She was last seen in her hospital room on December 21 . The hospital says it does not know what happened .