A grieving family is demanding answers after a North Vancouver senior suffering from dementia was able to wander away from her care home and die in the cold.
Retired nurse Joan Warren walked out of Sunrise Senior Living alone and unnoticed early Friday morning. Her family said the 76-year-old was prone to wandering, but the care home had assured them she’d be monitored closely and equipped with an alarm bracelet on her wrist.
“When you’re wearing the bracelet, our understanding was that an alarm would go off if you walked out the door,” Warren’s daughter Celia Dino said.
Warren, who has been described as a doting grandmother and eager volunteer, wasn’t wearing the bracelet when she managed to leave Sunrise.
“It was such a cold day,” Dino said. “How could this have happened on this day of all days?”
Two days later, a hiker walking his dog found her body near Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. It’s believed she froze to death.
Sunrise Senior Living is not commenting on how Warren managed to leave the care home in freezing weather, but vice-president Jeff Slichta said it is being investigated.
“We are deeply saddened by what’s occurred,” Slichta said. “We are obviously conducting a very thorough investigation. It’s always our goal to provide safety and security to all of our residents.”
Sunrise is also meeting with the local health authority, Slichta said.
The deceased’s family said they are considering legal action, but first have to deal with the painful process of planning Warren’s memorial.
“It just shouldn’t happen,” her daughter Sally Warren said. “How could they let this happen?”
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Shannon Paterson
