A Minneapolis assisted-living facility and one of its maintenance workers are being blamed for poor supervision of a resident with Alzheimer’s disease who wandered outside and died of hypothermia in November.
The Minnesota Department of Health determined the woman left through an external gate at the Jones-Harrison Residence that was supposed to be locked, and her caregivers waited too long to initiate a missing-person search, according to a state investigative report released Tuesday.
The woman, who was not named in the report, was found dead in a wooded area near the facility, which is close to Cedar Lake. She was discovered about 11 a.m. Nov. 22 — roughly 19 hours after caregivers last reported seeing her.
“Although staff had an opportunity to intervene, no one implemented the missing-resident protocol in a timely manner,” the report concluded.
The state’s finding concluded that Jones-Harrison was responsible for neglect of supervision. No fines were issued because the state found on a March re-inspection that the facility had corrected its deficiencies.
Police found tracks from a walker on the floor of the facility’s underground garage. They surmised the woman used her walker, which was found near her body, to wheel across the garage and out a gate that led to the woods.
The gate is typically locked after hours, but a maintenance worker admitted he had used the exit at the end of his shift Nov. 21 as a shortcut to his car. He failed to lock it or report it unlocked, according to the report.
A home health aide recorded that the woman ate lunch Nov. 21, and a volunteer reported that she was in the gift shop about 3 p.m. After that, the state report indicates substantial confusion over whether she was out on a facility movie night or away with her daughter. Her absence from dinner and her scheduled medication times prompted three calls to her room that went unanswered.
Complicating matters was the fact that the woman’s daughter took her out Nov. 20 but failed to sign a required form when she brought her back later that day.
A nurse called the daughter about 10 p.m. Nov. 21 to check whether the resident was with her. But a search for the resident didn’t start until after 7:30 the next morning, when the daughter called to report her mother wasn’t with her.
The state pointed out several missed opportunities: A home health aide waited too long to report the absence to a supervising nurse, and the staff waited too long to initiate a search after that. Confusion over the failure of the daughter to sign her mother back in could have been addressed by checking subsequent meal records.
Leaders at Jones-Harrison have taken steps to prevent future incidents. The maintenance worker who opened the locked door was fired. Staff received new instructions on how to address confusion over a resident’s whereabouts and to track residents participating in off-site activities such as movie nights. Keys to the locked door were restricted, and an extra alarm was installed.
“This was an incredibly sad day for Jones-Harrison — one we’ll never forget,” said Lowell Berggren, president and CEO of the senior living complex.
Berggren said the facility will not appeal the state’s finding.
BERKELEY — After the family of a teenager who has been missing for the past 14 years contacted Berkeley police, detectives are calling on the community for solid leads they hope will allow them to investigate further.
Patrick McColl
Patrick McColl, missing for 14 years, in a computer rendering showing how he could look today.
On Aug. 28, 1995, Berkeley High School student Peter John McColl, then 16, disappeared after telling his brother he was going to a bookstore on Telegraph Avenue. He last was seen about 10:30 a.m. that day by family members at their home in the 700 block of The Alameda in North Berkeley, police said.
McColl declined an invitation to have breakfast with his mother and instead told his brother he was headed to the bookstore. At 11:39 p.m. Aug. 28, when McColl had not come home or contacted his parents, the family called Berkeley police and reported him missing.
At the time of McColl’s disappearance, he was going to enter his junior year at Berkeley High and had been a member of the school’s crew team. McColl was described by family members as “a loving, quiet young man who shared a passion for music and playing the guitar,” police said.
At the time of his disappearance, McColl was nearsighted and wore glasses. He would be 30 now, but the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children only has a picture enhanced to age 22, police said.
McColl’s father, John McColl, has a message for his son: “Peter, if you are out there, we still love you. Please come home. Our hearts ache for you.”
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the Berkeley police homicide unit, which routinely handles missing person cases, at 510-981-5741 or the department’s nonemergency line at 510-981-5900. Callers can remain anonymous by calling Bay Area Crime Stoppers tip line at 800-222-8477 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.
STOCKTON – Stockton Police are searching for a 14-year-old McNair High student who has been reported missing since Friday.
Missing Teens
Marija Mikalonis is described as white, between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 6 inches tall, 140 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair.
Family members said Makalonis is a freshman at McNair High who has few friends and usually comes straight home after school. The family does not believe she would run away.
She did not come home from school Friday and has not been seen or heard from since, her uncle, Justin Kerlin, said.
Officer Pete Smith said police on Friday did not consider Mikalonis at risk. On Monday, police received information that Mikalonis was seen by a school employee hitchhiking on Eight Mile Road near Highway 99.
“The fact that she was seen engaging in dangerous activity like hitchhiking elevated this to an at-risk case,” Smith said.
Anyone with information on this missing person case can contact Stockton Police at (209) 937-8323 or after hours at (209) 937-8245.
SALINAS, Calif- Police are looking for Ruben Acosta. Acosta disappeared last Thursday after leaving the HOPE Rehabilitation Center on Brunken Avenue. Police say he’s mentally handicapped and has trouble speaking.
Missing Persosn
“At this point we are concerned because its Monday and he still hasn’t returned. He was sighted last Thursday afternoon and hasn’t been seen since,” said home care center director Gina Perata Fiallos.
Acosta left work, but he never returned to the home care facility for people with disabilities. The home’s director, Perata Fiallos says that’s rare.
“This is out of his routine and we are extremely concerned, we notified law enforcement, distributed flyers, relatives are also involved,” said Perata Fiallos
Acosta is independent, he uses MST buses for transportation and goes to thrift stores. This is the fifth missing person case on the central coast. In the last month, I asked police if they’re doing anything different this time.
“It’s on the website, twitter and we also utilize facebook. Every case is different, it’s still early to say how this one will turn out but we’re definately hopeful that we’ll be able to find Ruben,” said Lalo Villegas with Salinas Police.
Ruben Acosta has lived at the homecare facility since 1999, the director also said they are looking for ways to prevent this from happening again.
Acosta was last seen wearing a blue hooded jacket, blue jeans, and carrying a flower print handbag. He is 5-10, 206, brown eyes, black & gray hair, and has moderate mental retardation. He has the mental capacity of a 12 year-old.
If you see Acosta, you are asked to call police at 758-7321
FAIRFIELD, Calif. (KCBS/AP) — Detectives in Fairfield and neighboring Suisun City are looking for leads, as the
search for a woman who would have been celebrating her 25th birthday Friday continues.
Police said Phuong Le disappeared sometime after leaving her home in Suisun City Sunday afternoon.
Her car, along with some personal items, were found outside a Barnes and Nobles bookstore Monday morning.
Investigators have determined she was in the store around 8:30 p.m. Sunday night.
Her family said she recently passed a nurses licensing exam and often went to the bookstore to study.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people turned out to attend a candlelight vigil in Fairfield Friday night, including members of the Solano Community College Nursing Club.
Investigators from the Suisun and Fairfield police departments said they are not aware of anyone who might want to harm the young woman and don’t know if she was taken or if she disappeared on her own.
Fairfield police have set up a tip line at (707) 428-7345 for anyone with information about the case.
A nationwide missing persons alert has also been issued and the FBI is involved in the investigation.
Source
Police are looking for a Suisun City woman who was last seen three days ago at a bookstore in Fairfield.
Missing Woman
Phuong Le, 24, left her home at about 4 p.m. Sunday and was last seen four hours later at the coffee shop in the Barnes and Noble bookstore at 1600 Gateway Blvd. in the Fairfield Mall, police said.
Le’s brother, Huong Le, 28, said today that he became worried when his sister failed to return home by early Monday. He found his sister’s white 1997 Honda Accord in the bookstore parking lot. Her cell phone and backpack were in the trunk, but there was no sign of his sister, he said.
Huong Le said his sister complained Sunday about having to help pass out fliers for her older sister’s hair-salon business, saying she needed time to look for a nursing job. She finished nursing school at Solano Community College in December and passed her oral boards several weeks ago, her brother said.
Huong Le said her sister regularly went to the bookstore to “cool off” after a disagreement. He said his sister had been stressed over the job search, but “this is just beyond unusual.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Fairfield police at (707) 428-7300 or a tip line at (707) 428-7345.
