ATLANTA (WANF/Gray News) – An 89-year-old woman was found dead after she went missing from an assisted living and memory care facility in Georgia.
Police said Patricia Miele was last seen by an employee at the Greenwood Place Assisted Living and Memory Care facility around 11 p.m. Friday.
The facility reported her missing around 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Police said park visitors found Miele’s body floating in a pond at Kennesaw Memorial Park on Monday, which is about half a mile from the assisted living facility.
“There are no cameras at the facility where she was staying. Therefore, we had no physical evidence that she had ever left the facility other than she was missing,” Sgt. Chuck McPhilamy with Marietta Police said.
Police searched the assisted living facility five times over the weekend and the surrounding neighborhoods, woods and bodies of water.
Miele was hearing impaired and did not have her eyeglasses with her, police previously said, adding that she had “been exhibiting signs of recent confusion, was new to the facility, and (could have been) disoriented.”
Marietta police said it’s likely Miele wandered away from the facility, but their investigation now continues to determine how this happened and if there is any foul play involved.
The medical examiner’s office will now perform an autopsy to determine Miele’s cause of death.
“I want to pass on our sympathy to the family and loved ones of Mrs. Miele. In Mrs. Miele, we saw our own mothers and grandmothers and we wanted nothing more than to find her safely and return her to you,” David Beam, Marietta police chief said. “While that wasn’t the outcome, know that our efforts were genuine, thorough, and led by a servant’s heart. You will be in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
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