The body of an elderly Florida man was discovered in a nursing home closet nearly two weeks after the facility reported him missing, according to his family.
Elin Etienne, 71, arrived at North Dade Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in North Miami in early August after suffering a brain aneurysm.
On Aug. 22, a nursing home employee reached out to the family to say the elderly man was missing.
His body was found on Monday, according to the North Miami Police.
The family is now demanding answers after they learned of the discovery from an anonymous caller.
“We still have to find out if he was put in the closet,” Rivly Breus, Etienne’s niece, told CBS News Miami. “We just don’t know, and I don’t want that to happen to another patient.”
“He decomposed and died alone in there suffering,” Breus said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Breus said Etienne came to South Florida from Haiti more than 30 years ago and became a chef.
Last fall, he suffered two strokes and was diagnosed with dementia. The brain aneurysm then significantly limited his mobility and cognitive abilities.
She said the facility’s staff has not been helpful in giving the family the answers they need.
“We are receiving no explanation for what happened here. Staff members are not answering questions,” Breus told CBS News. “We heard that the coroner could not positively identify him yet because his body is decomposing and they would have to check dental records, but we are certain it is him. We need to get some answers about what happened to Elin. This is very upsetting to all of us.”
North Miami Police told the station there’s an ongoing investigation pending the medical examiner’s findings and foul play had not been ruled out.