The search is on in southern California for a Grammy-nominated music producer who mysteriously vanished after phoning a friend to say he was being chased by people with dogs.
Christian Irwin, 48, of the Topanga area of Los Angeles, was last heard from Sunday morning when he phoned a friend at 3:45 a.m. to say he was pursued through a ravine. Police said he had lost his glasses and shoes in a nearby creek.
"He really felt like he was running for his life," John Riolo, Irwin's brother-in-law, told KNBC-TV. "And, if he felt like he was running for his life, he probably was."
Family members say Irwin, who has produced recordings for Carly Simon, David Bowie, Queen Latifah, De La Sol and Vanessa Williams, was recently caught up in a well-known Nigerian Internet scam.
"He did receive a check in the mail last week for $50,000," Sharon Riolo, Irwin's sister, told the station. "That frightened him. All of the sudden it became a little bit scary."
According to the hoaxbusting site Snopes.com, the electronic scam involves "a wealthy foreigner who needs help moving millions of dollars from his homeland promises a hefty percentage of this fortune as a reward for assisting him."
