Activities: LACMA Chocolate Showing; HASC; Aging Photo, Calls, Visits, Media, Task Force

Several things were accomplished this last week:

1. LACMA has agreed to show the short film Chocolate (along with the video segment about Nancy and the feature film "Still Alice"); and they are going to name the event in honor of Nancy - very kind.  The event is slated for September 23 at 4:00.  Please attend!
2. Gordana Vukotich is a neighbor who has recently volunteered, and she has very useful expertise at the executive level in the health care field.  Along with indispensable help from Kathy Shoemaker, we were able to get Nancy's story to the current COO of the Hospital Association of Southern California (HASC).  Most hospitals here belong to that organization, and along with some specific requests for doing patient database searches for Jane Does that might have been Nancy, we were able to make a few suggestions on how they could make a few, hopefully simple, changes to their operating procedures to make this an easier process for people in the future.
3. We have asked a "Photo Aging" service to take a cut at what Nancy might look like now, assuming she spent at least some time out on the street.  If the results look promising, we'll release this to the media; and probably send out another postcard with Nancy's info on it to all of the residential facilities.
4. The awesome callers have finished calling every residential facility I could find, and have moved on to calling "Cities" (that is, cities outside of California).  This is a rather daunting task given that every city/county has a different way of dealing with missing persons, and especially of hearing about them from other places.
5. Our "Visiting teams" are finishing up going to those facilities that "didn't really give the right answer" on the phone.
6. We are still trying to get the national media interested in some aspect of this story.  Locally, Karen Foshay is the producer of "SoCal Connected" - a PBS show.  She would like her pilot show to feature a segment on our search for Nancy.  That should air October 10, and she will be accompanying us on some of our visits and watching us "work" with a camera rolling to build up some material.
7. A few of us are going to attend the "Bringing Our Loved Ones Home" Task Force meeting tomorrow.  This is the study group formed by our County Supervisor, Janice Hahn, to look into the use of tracking technology to help find wanderers.

Latest Acitivities

Several things are going on ...

1. The awesome callers have almost finished up the last list of residential care facilities - THANKS CALLERS AND PEG! ... about 15% of the facilities get the "Need to visit" tag based on either a specific recommendation from the caller or my determination that the facility doesn't understand or is uncooperative, so our visiting teams will start seeing some of those shortly.
2. A kind public relations woman has volunteered to join the effort (along with NJ Jaeger, who has been great at helping out) - Patti Londre, welcome!  We are looking at having another "media event" at LACMA, hopefully in July.  There are a couple of ideas for this event, one of which is to have a screening of the movie Chocolate.  I have been in contact with LACMA (Thanks Amy and Paul!) and they are looking it over.
3. We are beating our collective heads against the wall trying to come up with a way to help hospitals query their databases for Nancy - either as a past patient or current one.  Asking them to check the database without using "Name" usually results in a blank look.  Even those that are very willing to help are somewhat stumped by this problem.  And to complicate matters even more, different hospitals use different database systems.  So, we will continue to work this.

Latest Activities: Calls; Story ideas to National Media; Visits; Help from Specialists

Once again I am sorry that I have been remiss in updating the blog often, but here we are:

1. Calls - the callers are finishing up with a large list of Residential Facilities in the greater LA area.  Once they have completed all their calls, there are typically between 10% and 20% that seem to require a visit, and we will get some teams together to get that done.
2. Once we have finished those calls, we will turn our attention to calling cities outside of LA (cops, Public Guardians, Adult Protective Services and whoever those people recommend we call).  Thank you callers!!!  (some callers have had to suspend calling while they deal with their very real lives, and we have a few new volunteers.  As always, if you would like to get involved with this, please email NancyIsMissing@gmail.com and the Omnipotent Calling Queen will get you going).
3. We continue to work up Story Ideas for National Media outlets.  We started with mailing one page ideas to ABC News shows (their prescribed format), and we have added NPR and are trying to figure out how to become a trusted contributor to NBC.  There are a few other outlets that we still have to research and submit to.  (we do have a few volunteers working on this, thanks to them!)
4. LAPD Sgt. Goldberg took me to some hospitals today, and there was a marked difference in how they responded (a positive for today, but a bit sad in general).  He was excellent and patient in explaining why a simple database search (based on name or DoB alone) was not gong to work, and they all promised to try to get the right personnel working on this.  (Big thanks to Sgt. Goldberg!)
5. A couple of folks with special talents have recently volunteered their services and I am taking them up on it.  Jeff is in the clergy and is involved in the homeless food distribution system.  He has offered to go to hospitals and speak to the chaplains.  A remarkably good ideas since they tend to see just about every patient.  Thank you Jeff!
6. Also, Joel Oiknine (Pronounced Wokneen, of course) is a criminal defense lawyer with experience dealing with the county government.  Joel has very graciously volunteered to help in many many ways, including finding a way to get Department 95A to look for Nancy (Department 95A is the criminal court department for people with mental health issues) and  reaching out to his large network of friends in areas such as movie production and national news.  Welcome and thanks Joel!

Efforts to get Nancy's Story in the Media

We have been trying to get some of the national news organizations to pick up Nancy's story in order to broaden the reach of the search.  We found that ABC News shows have a standard one page format, so we have been mailing them one page story ideas for the past month or so.

Most other news organizations, like NPR and NBC, take inputs through the web.  This is actually a more labor intensive process, and I would like to ask for a volunteer who would be willing to do this (basically, format our ABC submissions into whatever the other news outlet wants, and send the ideas to several of their news shows).

Here are the letters we have submitted so far.

Nancy is Missing

Connection to Chocolate

The Search for Nancy

Vanished

Megan Barnes Excellent Article About LA Studying Use of Tracking Devices

Megan Barnes wrote this for the front page of today's Daily Breeze:

Daily Breeze Article on Tracking Devices

Video about Nancy

Thiago Dadalt (Writer / Director of Chocolate) made an great video about Nancy.
YouTube Link to Nancy is Missing Video

Please post this on your FaceBook page and share it as broadly as possible!
Thanks

LAPD Sergeant to Help with Search

Sergeant Mike Goldberg out of the Van Nuys division of the LAPD interviewed me today and is going to put some effort, along with some colleagues, into finding Nancy.  He has already visited an area in North Hollywood that has a significant homeless population and is bringing Nancy's story to the attention of the police that are most familiar with that community.

This is a tremendous development and we look forward to all that Sgt. Goldberg can accomplish.

Here is Piercey Dalton's post from the Chocolate Facebook page: Click Here to go to the Facebook site for Chocolate...

Two Months after the completion of "Chocolate", posters of Nancy Paulikas appeared around LA. At 55 years old, with Early On-Set Alzheimers, Nancy had wandered away from her husband while visiting LACMA and was now nowhere to be found.

This uncanny parallel to Eve's story revealed the deafening realities within our fiction and encouraged the "Chocolate" team to join the search for Nancy, with a passion.

Nancy has now been missing for over 6 months. Her husband, Kirk Moody, attends our screenings with stacks of Nancy flyers in hand and ample support for artists who are helping to increase social awareness.

We ask you to help us find Nancy by simply sharing her images found at Nancy is Missing so that she can be recognized wherever she is.

#LetsFindNancy #MissingPersonLA #Alzheimers Alzheimer's Greater Los Angeles #share #repost #supportindiefilm #firstglancefilmfestival#bestdrama Andre Chesini Marcos Daniel Ferreira Dâmaris Pinheiro Joao Bounassar Bruna Nogueira

Click Here to go to Facebook site for Chocolate...

Photo from the screening of Chocolate

\
Here is photo from the screening of Chocolate at the FirstGlance Film Festival.at which Chocolate won for "Best Drama." From left: Amy Argyle, actress, Thiago Dadalt, writer/director, Piercey Dalton, who won for "Best Actress", and Kirk Moody, husband of Nancy Paulikas.

Short Film "Chocolate" Wins Best Drama and Piercey Dalton Wins Best Actress Award at 17th Annual FirstGlance Film Festival!

We just learned that Piercey Dalton won the "Best Actress" award for her leading role as Eve in the short movie "Chocolate" and the movie won in the "Best Drama" category!!!

This is wonderful news for Writer/Director Thiago Dadalt, for producer Dru Miller, and for the whole team that worked to make such a beautiful film (described in more detail in the previous post).

Again... it is just remarkable that this movie about a woman with early onset Alzheimer's that wanders off and is lost on the streets of Los Angeles was shot last summer and completed not long before Nancy went missing on October 15th.

Chocolate will be part of a film festival in NYC next week an then will go on to be screened at Cannes.

We wish the team all the best and thank them, again, for their efforts to help shed light on the plight of an increasing number of people around the world, and to their support in helping find Nancy Paulikas...

              CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for Chocolate

              CLICK HERE for the Facebook page for the movie Chocolate

Screening on Saturday of a Remarkable Short Movie, "Chocolate... Not All Who Wander are Lost"

Kirk and a small group attended the public screening of the short movie "Chocolate" at the 17th Annual FirstGlance Film Festival Los Angeles.

The movie was written, directed, and edited by the very talented Thiago Dadalt and is about Eve, a woman with early onset Alzheimer's, who wanders from home, ending up in the homeless community in Los Angeles.  Eve is played with amazing sensitivity by Piercey Dalton and there are also very strong performances by Joao Bounassar, Amy Argyle and Talia Bacha.

Remarkably, this movie was shot last summer and completed not long before Nancy went missing on October 15th.

The movie was nominated in four categories for the London International Film Festival, and Amy Argyle won for best supporting actress.

Watching this movie was, frankly, very emotionally difficult as it reflected many aspects of losing Nancy.

But it is also an uplifting movie; it carries the message of the realities of Alzheimer's Disease in our society and how we can help prevent future wanderings and losses of loved ones.

Chocolate will be part of film festival in NYC next week, and then will go on to be screened at Cannes.

The hope on the parts of the producer and team is that they can turn this into a full-length movie, and Thiago is working on the script.

              CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for Chocolate

              CLICK HERE for the Facebook page for the movie Chocolate

Meeting with Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi's Office

Today we met with Jenn Hardy, the Office Assistant for our California State Assemblyman, Al Muratsuchi.

We were looking for two things, either of which might result in better ways to help find missing people, especially those, like Nancy, who are suffering from a debilitating disease.

1. We asked if we could have some insight into how the database of Medi-Cal applications is structured.  If we can get a toe in the door here, we can potentially find an efficient way to search for applications that may be indicators of missing persons.  We volunteered free technical support to look into this problem.
2. We also related our frustrations with getting answers from (some) hospitals, due to either some misguided sense of personal privacy laws (HIPAA), or simply an inability to answer our questions.  Given this, it was suggested that some legislation might be appropriate that would compel hospitals, in certain circumstances, to report unidentified patients to the police; in order for the Missing Persons Bureau of the police would have that information pushed to them, rather than having them pull it out.  (Informing the police seems to be sort of a standard practice in Orange County, but rare in LA County - just our observation).  Ms. Hardy informed us that the deadline for proposing new legislation for 2017 has already passed, but was willing to have their office look into something for 2018.

We are quite appreciative of the time that Ms. Hardy gave us and look forward to any progress she can make on either of these areas.

Updated Fliers and Manhattan Beach Police Letter and Flyer

We updated the fliers that are accessible in the right frame of this blog, about half-way down.

New Article: "Missing Manhattan Beach Woman: Family Hoping For 'Miracle' 6 Months In"

"Missing Manhattan Beach Woman: Family Hoping For 'Miracle' 6 Months In"

Nancy Paulikas has been missing for six months and her family is still holding out hope of finding her.

Click here for Patch.Com Article on Nancy and "Easter Miracle"

Summary of Efforts to Find Nancy

 We have put together a summary of the efforts undertaken to find Nancy.  You can find it in .pdf form, and it is repeated below.

Pdf version of Efforts to Find Nancy

Introduction Nancy Paulikas, a 56 year old Alzheimer’s patient, walked away from a family visit to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) mid-afternoon on Saturday, October 15, 2016. Family, friends, police and many volunteers have been searching for her since her disappearance without success.

Because so many new friends and observers have expressed an interest in helping we are providing the following account of the activities that have been undertaken to find Nancy. The list is by no means exhaustive, but it does highlight the principal efforts.

Law Enforcement Activity

• Saturday, October 15th, the day that Nancy went missing at about 3PM
• Los Angeles police arrived on the scene very soon after she was reported missing by Museum security o
• LAPD deployed a helicopter to search the area o
• LAPD (Wilshire Precinct) did a block-to-block search starting around 8 PM
• Unfortunately, dogs were not available to aid in the search
• Responsibility for search moved to LAPD Missing Persons on Sunday and transferred to the Manhattan Beach PD (Nancy’s residence) on Monday
• On Monday the California Highway Patrol issued a Silver Alert (like an Amber Alert for seniors)
• Subsequently a Reddinet (hospital “Be on the Lookout” BOLO) notice was issued
• Both MBPD and LAPD have continued to be supportive
• Nancy’s information has been entered into the National Missing Person’s Database (NAMUS)

Private Investigator

• Nancy’s family brought in a well credentialed private investigator to assist with initial organizational efforts and search
• His company’s services were used for several weeks

Community Awareness Efforts

• Family and friends began handing out and posting flyers on Sunday, October 16th, the day after Nancy went missing
• Volunteer search group grew dramatically and additional flyers were systematically distributed and posted in the area around LACMA and in an increasing ring of surrounding neighborhoods
• The flyer area was expanded to include North Hollywood and Venice via a service that delivered it door-to-door to every residence
• Businesses willing to post flyers did so for miles around LACMA. This included food carts.
• Team members worked to make sure Libraries, Schools, Parks, Police Stations and Fire Stations were all visited/informed
• Flyers were distributed to drivers with companies such as Uber, Lyft, private taxi companies, FedEx, USPS, and Metro Transportation
• Held a widely covered Commemorative Vigil at LACMA site one month after Nancy went missing

Tip Tracking

• A network of community volunteers worked out who could quickly respond to “Chase tips” of potential sightings on a moment’s notice since they were coming in from all over the LA area
• Response teams and team members followed up on dozens of tips, and continue to respond to tips to this day

Video Collection and Review

• Teams of volunteers were deployed to ask businesses around LACMA (and around where tips were received) for security camera videos
• Business videos were collected and reviewed by teams of volunteers- hundreds of hours were collected, assigned/distributed and carefully reviewed
• Analysis showed Nancy’s path on Oct. 15th for only a few minutes, walking west on Wilshire to McCarthy Vista then turning and walking southwest on the east side of McCarthy Vista. This is the last confirmed sighting of Nancy and was about 15 minutes after she went missing from LACMA.

Homeless Communities

• Search volunteers talked to many homeless people when flyers were being posted; many homeless people joined in the effort
• Search volunteers visited a number of homeless camps, met with members, and distributed flyers. Almost universally, members of the homeless community were supportive and said that they would use their social networks to help distribute the word to look for Nancy.
• Search volunteers went to every homeless shelter in the LA metropolitan area, talked to staff and passed out/posted flyers
• Flyers were delivered and distributed to all known homeless food distribution sites
• Agencies serving the homeless in LA and Orange counties (and to a lesser extent, Ventura and San Bernardino counties) were contacted and received flyers for dissemination

Media

• Nancy’s story was featured on all local TV stations’ prime-time newscasts, in some instances multiple times. A media team identified opportunities to keep Nancy in the public eye by bringing TV and press attention to events like the “Vigil” and asking players of an updated Pokemon Go game to look for Nancy while they walk streets and parks playing the game.
• Kirk Moody, Nancy’s husband, did a brief appeal at the end of the nationally televised “The Doctors” on January 9, 2017
• Articles appeared in numerous local papers, including a Steve Lopez feature in the LA Times and articles in La Opinion and the Jewish press
• Full and Partial page ads ran prominently in the LA Times for over a month
• Thiago Dadalt wrote and directed a short movie called “Chocolate” about a woman with dementia who wanders in Los Angeles and is assimilated into the homeless community. The lead actress (Piercey Dalton) reached out to Kirk regarding the movie after seeing Nancy’s story.

They initially received feedback that their story was “impossible- people are found in a couple of days”; so Nancy’s story really validated their story line. Thiago Dadalt is creating a video specifically about Nancy. He is creating two versions, a very brief one for social media, and a longer version that we can share with news outlets and other places.

• Information has been distributed on numerous social media platforms including: NancyIsMissing Blog, Facebook page, Twitter, Reddit, NextDoor and Imgur. The NIM blog and Facebook pages continue to be updated.

Hospitals

• In the first week search volunteers visited all hospitals within a 10 mile radius of LACMA to distribute/post flyers in Emergency Rooms
• Volunteers have made phone contacts with all hospitals (173) in LA and Orange County; Emergency Rooms were contacted daily for the first 6 weeks
• Volunteers are following up with 45 area hospitals on a regular basis and making new follow-up calls on full list of 173 hospitals

Residential Care Facilities

• A mass mailing using the US Postal Service sent a cover letter and poster to 5,000 licensed Residential Care Facilities in LA and Orange counties
• Volunteers made follow-up calls to over 1,000 Care Facilities
• Volunteers made personal visits to over 300 Care Facilities

Government Support

• Search efforts were aided by several government officials, including State Senator Ben Allen, LA Supervisor Janice Hahn and Congressman Ted Lieu
• Kirk Moody, Nancy’s husband, testified at a Board of Supervisors meeting (February 28, 2017) in support of Janice Hahn/Sheila Kuehl’s proposal for a study on tracking devices for people with conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and Autism
• Contacts have been made with appropriate County Departments in LA and surrounding county offices (e.g. Mental Health, Depts. of Conservatorship, Adult Protective Services, Nursing Home Ombudsmen, Aging, Behavioral Health, etc.)
• Specific contacts have been made with each County’s Public Guardian and Adult Protective Services throughout California
• The California Department of Social Services has searched its data base for information on applications for emergency Medi-Cal (California’s Medi-Caid) which can be given to patients who are unidentified
• The LA Coroner’s office is acutely aware of Nancy’s story and is diligent in checking unidentified bodies

Other Organizational Support

• Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles and Alzheimer’s Orange County have been active in spreading the word, including speaking at the Vigil and allowing our team members to speak at Alzheimer’s events
• Various units of the Salvation Army and a large number of other nonprofit organizations have assisted in spreading the message that Nancy is missing

BOTTOM LINE-Despite all of these efforts, Nancy is still missing.

If you have ideas about other areas or ways to search for her, we are open to them.

If you would like to help us search for Nancy by making phone calls or distributing flyers to residential care facilities and/or hospitals, or doing something else, please contact us at

NancyIsMissing@gmail.com

And I would again like to thank ALL of the hundreds of people and organizations that have supported my effort to find my wife over these months since she went missing. The outpouring of resources, volunteer time, and support has been staggering and SO greatly appreciated by me and my team members.

Sincerely,

Kirk Moody, Nancy’s Husband

Ed Floven in the Beverly Press has another nice article

Beverly Press Article

"How's the search for Nancy going? and "What's the family’s state of mind?"... The two things that come up most frequently from visitors to this blog

Two of the things that come up most frequently from visitors to this blog involve the current status of the search for Nancy and the family’s state of mind. 

Unfortunately, while we are actively continuing the search and have reached out in many, many different directions, we have still not turned up a single clue to her whereabouts.  Thanks to the ongoing commitment of the lead officers of the Manhattan Beach Police Department and the many dedicated volunteers who have given so much energy and so many hours, the search continues with visits and calls to the literally hundreds (thousands?) of facilities in Southern California where she might be being cared for under a Jane Doe or misidentified designation.

Kirk and Nancy’s parents want everyone to know how much they appreciate the outpouring of care and concern that has surrounded this impossible situation.  While frustrated and anxious, they remain fully engaged in the search process.  They are mindful of the need to take care of their own health during this stressful time and are working hard to do all of the appropriate things to make that possible.

With 6 months having passed since Nancy went missing we want to again ask all of you to help keep our search in the eye of the media, in the minds of care-givers throughout southern California, and in your hearts.

Jeanne Fratello Has a Nice Article in Dig MB

Dig MB Article

Media push

We have contacted the media outlets that have covered Nancy in the past and pointed out that Saturday will mark the six month mark.  In addition, we have upped the reward for information to $30,000.  Looking for an "Easter Miracle" that will help us find Nancy.

Another Very Nice Article in the Daily Breeze by Megan Barnes

Daily Breeze Article by Megan Barnes

March 2017: Elderly homeless woman in Santa Barbara reunited with children after a decade on the streets...

Here is an amazing, recent story from Santa Barbara about an elderly homeless woman being reunited with her three children after disappearing more than a decade ago.

"Kayannette Gabrielle went missing from her home in Valencia in 2006.  Her son, Brett Hanlon reported her disappearance to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Her information was entered into a statewide database and detectives followed leads for years."

CLICK HERE for article on finding woman missing for 10 yrs

Advanced Tickets on Sale for Chocolate Screening

If you would like to get some advanced tickets, the screening will be at 4:30, Saturday, April 22.  Tickets at this site are $15 + $1.82 service charge.  Go to this site:

Ticket site for Film Festival Screening

Hit the Green "Tickets" button, and scroll down to Saturday Twilight.
Then scroll to the bottom and go through the rigamarole of paying ..

The advantage of getting advanced tickets is that currently, the movie is in a small cinema - if enough people get advanced tickets, they will move it to a larger cinema.  Also, clearly, if they don't move it, and a lot of people show up, you may get aced out of a seat.

Latest Activities

Our Call Manager Extradonaire, Peg Griffith, sent out an email, and I am blatantly plagiarizing her good work ... 

 

I mentioned there was some beta testing going on regarding new processes….we are now ready to roll them out.   Below is a summary of the four call-related processes we are currently doing:

1. Facility Calls (previously called Daily Calls):

These are first calls to find out if the facility is a viable option for us to continue to call.   We aren’t doing any of these right now, but they might pop of here and there when we get new facility lists.

2. Research *** NEW ***:

We have had people behind the scenes searching on-line websites, googling and being detectives trying to find contact information for hospitals so callers that are doing deep dive calls (see #3) can more easily bypass the receptionist and avoid other bureaucratic landmines.   

3. Deep Dive ***NEW***

Once the researchers gather the information, a data sheet is sent to the deep dive callers and they are to contact the facility using the contact information provided by the researchers.   These calls are similar to facility calls, but they are more in-depth and focus more on the administrative, social services, case management, admissions, etc. departments versus the emergency rooms.   Once the deep divers make the call they are asked to evaluate whether this facility should be adopted.

4. Adopt A Hospital (AAH):

These are facilities that are assigned to one person to establish a relationship and enter data when calls are made.  These calls are on your own schedule based on the relationship you have with your facility.  

As always, if you would like to do any of these tasks, email NancyIsMissing@gmail.com and let us know which one(s).

In Addition

We are continuing to try the "top down" approach.  Detective Rosenberger from the Manhattan Beach Police Department accompanied me to downtown LA last week to see if an in-person visit would get the people at the Medi-Cal Investigations and Fraud Division to help us by supplying another list of palces that have applied for Medi-Cal coverage for a person without a valid SSN.  They promised to provide this info by tomorrow evening.

I also spoke to the Probate Division head of the LA County Public Guardian.  This is the area where any applications for conservatorship will go.  He assured me that he is looking for applications that match Nancy's profile.

Also, my sister has been busy calling the Public Guardians and Adult Protective Service agencies at counties in California, letting them know about Nancy and asking them to keep a lookout.

As always, thanks for all your hard work and dedication to finding Nancy.

Spefics on Choclate Screening

The date and time has finally been set for the Chocolate Screening:

Laemmle Noho 7
Saturday April 22 at 4:30pm.  Feel free to spread the word! I believe that tickets are $12. 

Movie "Chocolate" Film Festival Info

Chocolate will be shown at the First Glance Film Festival, which runs April 20 - 23 at Laemmle Noho 7 Theatre.  The schedule is not yet set, but you check it out here:

Link to Film Festival Facebook Page

Remarkable Short Movie: Chocolate

I was invited, along with Nancy's parents and Nancy Ward, to a private screening of the short movie "Chocolate". 

The movie is about a woman who has early onset Alzheimer's and wanders from home, ending up in the homeless community in Los Angeles.  (Rather remarkable, really).

The movie features truly amazing performances, including by Piercey Dalton (playing "Eve", the subject of the film), Joao Bounassar, Amy Argyle and Talia Bacha.  (you don't have to take my word for that, the movie was nominated in four categories for the London IFF, and Amy Argyle won for best supporting actress).

Thiago Dadalt wrote and directed this movie - and it is scary how accurate it is. 

There will be a showing for the public at a North Hollywood film festival, I believe in April.   Please check it out.

Facebook Page for Chocolate

New Article in Park La Brea News/Beverly Press

Ed Folven wrote a nice article about our continuing search:

Beverly Press: Search Continues for Missing Woman

Daily Breeze article on the LA County Board of Supervisors vote to help find critical missing persons...

Nice article in the Daily Breeze describing the vote by the LA County Board of Supervisors to set up a task force to better help families whose loved ones with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or autism wander off and go missing.

Click here for article: Daily Breeze Article: LA Country Board of Supervisors Vote to Find Critical Missing Personss

LA County Board of Supervisors to study tracking devices

I went to the LA County Board of Supervisors meeting today at the invitation of Janice Hahn.  She co-sponsored the following motion:

Recommendation as submitted by Supervisors Hahn and Barger: Establish the Bringing Our Loved Ones Home Task Force, led by the Director of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services, in coordination with the Chief Executive Officer, the Sheriff, the Director of Public Social Services, as well as the Office of Public Guardian, the Commission on Disabilities, the Los Angeles County Commission on Local Governmental Services, the Commission on Aging, the Countywide Criminal Justice Services Coordination Committee, and the Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles, to explore the feasibility of establishing a voluntary Countywide program that can keep track of adults and children and expedite the recovery of  those individuals who wander away from their families and caregivers, and explore the best available devices to be implemented, provide guidance and a timeline for comprehensive training, estimate the cost of such a program, and report back to the Board within 60 days with their findings. (17-1008)

I was invited to speak to this topic and said this:

My name is Kirk Moody and I am here to endorse Supervisor Hahn's motion to study the use of tracking devices for people who may wander from their caregivers, and the associated training necessary for emergency personnel.

Unfortunately, I have personal experience with the need for such devices.  My wife, Nancy Paulikas, suffers from severe early-onset Alzheimer's disease.  Nancy wandered from a family outing last October 15th and we have yet to find any trace of her. Despite enormous efforts by literally hundreds of volunteers and the police, as well as broad media coverage, we have ye to find single credible clue as to Nancy's whereabouts.

At the time she wandered, Nancy was wearing a Medi-Alert bracelet - the sister bracelet to this one that I am wearing now. These are one of the most common current tools to help find wanderers.  Unfortunately, they contain no active tracking mechanism.  They simply have instructions for contacting the caregiver if someone should see the person and read the bracelet.  It is not uncommon for the patient to remove the bracelets.

My frustration in finding my wife is a situation that promises to repeat with increasing frequency as the overall population ages and Alzheimer's disease, other forms of dementia, and conditions such as autism become more prevalent.

Please consider Supervisor Hahn's motion as a critical step in helping solve this problem.

The motion passed and they are going to get a report back in 60 days.

What we are up to right now

We have several activities going on right now, and I'll try to summarize them here.

1. Adopt a Hospital - we have a list of the largest hospitals in the area and the ones closest to LACMA.  Instead of calling them often (with emphasis on the ER), we are asking "adopters" to work with a single hospital from that list, and hopefully establish a connection with someone who has the breadth to be a point of contact going forward.  This allows us to just call the hospital once every other week or so to make sure they are aware that Nancy is still missing and that we are still looking for her.
2. Daily calls.  At the moment, we do not have a list of additional places to call.  This will probably change in the next week or so based on some large database work going on.
3. Facility visits.  Despite all of the calling we have done, it is somewhat disappointing to actually visit facilities that we have called in the past and they claim they have not seen the flyer or heard about Nancy.  So, we have people visiting care facilities to drop off flyers and get them to post them where the nurses congregate (nurses all work at more than one place). 
4. Working from the "top down".  We are still working with the Medi-Cal office to discover instances of facilities applying for Medi-Cal reimbursement for people that fit Nancy's demographic but do not have a valid SSN.  In addition, we are looking into how we can get someone to review all of the forms that are filled out when a hospital holds someone for evaluation (these are called 5150s ... the Public Guardians office tells us they have reviewed all of the 5150s they have received with no matches, but there are other batches of 5150s, and we are trying to get someone to look at those).

As always, if you would like to participate in any of these activities, please send an email to NancyIsMissing@Gmail.com and let us know your interest and availability.

Very Nice Letter From Sarah Dalhover of Vista Pacifica Center

As many of you have experienced when calling or visiting a facility in search of Nancy, there are people who just don't seem to want to be bothered.  You also get kind people who are willing and able to help.  And then you get superstars, like Sarah Dalhover from the Vista Pacifica Center in Riverside.

Ms. Dalhover sent me the following letter which just made my day.

Nice Article in MBDigs

Jeanne Fratello has a nice write up in DIGMB ...
http://www.digmb.com/2017/02/10/134967/search-continues-for-missing-alzheimers-patient