Alzheimers Patients almost always head for some place that is very important to them,
most likely from their past, that they have maybe been dwelling on
recently in their conversations with you. Think outside the box.
Often, they tend to get pretty far. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for
her to actually be trying to head to Colorado, for example.
Also
a big chance she is still somewhere in the Arts complex. It sounds
pretty big. It needs to be thoroughly searched, especially since,
according to news reports, she was only recorded on one camera? She
should have turned up on more, I would think. Alzheimers patients can
become confused in small, tight places and simply stop moving and get
stuck.
Have they done any searching in the
complex with dogs? Bloodhounds are NOT the right resource. It is too
late for trailing dogs. They need airscent dogs who are well-trained in
urban search. The California group for search dogs is CARDA. Maybe
you can contact them. Who is the law enforcement agency running this
search for you? Maybe ask them (and keep asking) for them to have
airscent dogs work the Arts Museum complex. They will need scent
articles from Nancy that only she has touched.
I agree that LACMA, and the area around La Brea tar pits sounds like it needs to be searched better. How have the people and security at the museum been? Are you in regular contact with anyone there or at law enforcement? How often are you checking with hospitals?
ReplyDeleteI think this man has a lot of great ideas. When my mother got lost, she would go to familiar locations from her youth such as the home she grew up. We found her car in an old neighborhood. She also liked to take cabs home so you may want to let the cab companies know about it. I have given the flyer to a friend who offered to post it for the nurses at LA County Med downtown. She said they get cases like this a lot. --Karin A.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the good idea that Nancy is going to try to find something that is important to her, it is hard to stress enough how unfamiliar she will be in this neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteIt is impossible for us to guess what is going through Nancy's mind, of course, but in the past she has tried hard to find me or to find home. Things and places that she may associate with doing that are: Parks, tennis courts, place names that look familiar (for example, there is a "Redondo St" close to the museum; and we have a street with that name close by as well). She grew up in Palos Verdes, and I believe that if she gets to a place where she can see the peninsula (typically on the west side near the ocean, or from a high vantage point), she will recognize it.
Stores and restaurants that she is familiar with and that we go to(again, not the specific ones in the museum neighborhood, but the chain names) are: Trader Joes, Ralphs, CVS, maybe Taco Bell. She likes libraries and parks.
That is just about all I can think of right now, will post again if something else occurs to me.