Assisted Living Facility Didn't Realize Man With Dementia Was Missing For Days, Family Says
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The family of a Bronx man who suffers from dementia wants answers after he went missing from an assisted living facility, and his disappearance was unnoticed for days before he was found.
"Honestly, I thought he was dead somewhere. I thought the worst immediately, I called all the morgues," Marina Browne told CBS2's Valerie Castro.
When her 61-year-old father, James, went missing over the weekend, finding him seemed like a shot in the dark.
He lives at Riverdale Manor, which is an assisted living facility in the Bronx. On Tuesday, a dialysis treatment center called his family, saying he'd missed an appointment. So the family called Riverdale Manor to find out why.
"They said, 'well we're under the impression that he is with you or a family member.' How can that be so? We've never taken him out overnight, we would have reached out to your facility and followed proper procedure," Marina said.
Residents can come and go from the facility at will, but Marina said they're supposed to sign in and out at the front desk, and any overnight stays with family must be registered with a case worker.
A check of surveillance cameras showed James leaving the facility Saturday night and getting on a bus.
"There was no paperwork to show that he had consented to go out, so everyone made an assumption and never spoke to him or a family member," Marina said.
Two days before anyone realized James was missing, he'd actually been found -- unconscious on a Harlem sidewalk with no identification. He was taken to St. Luke's Hospital.
"He was very bruised and very swollen, and according to doctors, he looked like he was assaulted," Marina said.
The family hopes their father's case encourages change at Riverdale Manor.
"They need to hire people that actually care and love what they do and care about the people there," Marina said.
CBS2 made repeated attempts to get the facility's side of the story, but a manager was never available.
The family said James will be in the hospital for an unknown amount of time recovering from his injuries. They are working to find a new assisted living facility for him once he's released.
