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With no ID, family ‘Cowboy’ finds refuge at recovery ranch

LORIS, S.C. — “Cowboy” has been at Christa and Richard Reynolds’ Recovery Ranch for five months. For five months, they’ve been looking for his identity.

The Reynolds, who own the Recovery Ranch for recovering addicts in Loris, believe Cowboy’s real name is Jim Willie Caldwell, but there’s no way to know for sure — he doesn’t have a driver’s license, state ID, Social Security card or any known family.

Christa Reynolds stumbled across him in late February or early March while at a Loris hospital with another Recovery Ranch resident. She overheard Caldwell, who prefers his nickname “Cowboy,” speaking with a nurse and a caseworker and gathered that he didn’t have any identification or money.

After waiting patiently, she interjected and offered to take him to the Recovery Ranch. One of the hospital employees told her that wasn’t an option because he didn’t have any money, she said.

“And I said, ‘he is absolutely an option,'” Christa Reynolds told The Sun News.

At the Recovery Ranch, residents care for animals and work on the ranch in exchange for food and housing. Caldwell has been there ever since.

He’s lovingly called “Cowboy,” stemming from the label on his papers that day at the hospital. They read: “American cowboy (Black male),” Christa Reynolds said.

Five months after bringing Caldwell to the ranch, the Reynolds say they’ve nearly exhausted their options to find his identity and his family members.

“We’ve run into dead end after dead end,” Richard Reynolds said.

They’ve worked with Adult Protective Services within the South Carolina Department of Social Services, tried various hospitals and gathered fingerprints in case Caldwell had a criminal history that could point to his identity. No one has been able to find out who he is.

“It’s unbelievable that someone could slip through the system like this,” Richard Reynolds said, pointing out that there could be more people in Caldwell’s situation.

Pamela Bryant, a spokesperson for SCDSS, said the agency would have to receive a report that meets its criteria before it can investigate or respond. Due to confidentiality reasons, Bryant couldn’t confirm whether SCDSS is working with Caldwell’s case.

According to the agency’s website, a “vulnerable adult” in Adult Protective Services is someone over the age of 18 who ” has a physical or mental condition which substantially impairs the person from adequately providing for his or her own care or protection.”

The Reynolds say Caldwell shows signs of dementia, leading to severe memory loss. His speech can be difficult to understand at first, but they’ve been able to piece together details about him over the last five months.

He says he was born in Louisiana and has spent time in Mississippi and Florida, before making his way to South Carolina. He’s told Richard and Christa Reynolds he was in Green Sea waiting for friends to pick him up. After they didn’t show, he wound up in the hospital. That’s when Christa Reynolds found him.

Estimating he’s around 80 years old, the Reynoldses threw Caldwell a quaint birthday party at the ranch in June — complete with a cowboy hat and $41 in cash gifted to him.

Caldwell says he has four brothers and five sisters. He can remember some of their names: Lula Mae, Diane, Glora Mae and Jacob Jimmy Lee Caldwell. He says his father’s name was Jim Caldwell, and his mother’s name was Bertha. The Reynolds have tried to look up his family members to no avail.

“I don’t know where they stay, I want to find out,” Caldwell said.

It’s clear he wants to find his family, Christa Reynolds says, but he’s settled into a routine over the past months at the Recovery Ranch.

“At the end of the day all he wants to do is be loved,” Christa Reynolds said.

Holly Tindall, a longtime resident of the ranch, has been his primary caregiver and friend.

She says he loves western movies, Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles, and he really wants to go to the zoo someday. He has a big sweet tooth and likes to show off his new shoes. The two chat all day, and she says he’s found family at the ranch. But she’s worried for his health.

Caldwell has stage IV kidney failure, heart failure and swelling in his brain, Tindall says. He often complains of headaches and it’s difficult for him to stay in the sun too long.

“He needs to see a doctor,” Tindall said. “We’ve been in and out of the hospital and I don’t think they know how to treat him because they can’t understand him.”

On top of the communication barrier, Richard Reynolds said it’s been challenging to secure benefits from Medicare or Medicaid because Caldwell doesn’t have identification. Hospitals sometimes refuse to write prescriptions for him because of the obstacles, Richard Reynolds said.

“We didn’t think this kind of stuff existed anymore,” he said. “At the end of the day, maybe there’s someone who can point us in a different direction.”

Even though they want to find Caldwell’s relatives, the Reynolds made it clear he has a place to stay and people who care about him at the ranch.

“You’re home, baby,” Christa Reynolds told Caldwell. “You don’t ever have to be by yourself again.”

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