WILLIAMS TOWNSHIP -- A Bay County Alzheimer’s patient is dead after she wandered from her home into the freezing cold. Now, advocates for the elderly are asking you to take extra precautions in these frigid temperatures.
"Right here on Flajole and Union. Right here, I couldn't believe it, no way," says Barbara Lind.
People along Flajole Road in Williams Township are upset.
"I'm just sick about, I just really am,” add Lind.
Police say an 86-year old Alzheimer’s patient was wearing just a nightgown when she walked away from her home in the middle of the night.
"In her nightgown, no coat, no nothing and they found her the next day and she was still alive yet,” says Lind.
She was found nearby several hours later and later died at Midland Hospital. Family members didn't want to talk on camera but say Phyllis Marie Kuchek didn't live alone.
"They gotta be watched. With this temperature, it's very cold out there for them,” says Russell Dubay who lives along Fajole Road.
Betty O’Neil works for the Greater Michigan chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
"Unfortunately, it's not an uncommon story," says O’Neil.
O'Neil says six out of 10 Alzheimer's patients will wander.
"If they're not found within the first 24 hours, they'll experience serious injury or death,” adds O’Neil.
That's why O'Neil wants you to take extra precautions in this extreme weather.
"It's about awareness. We don't always see everything that goes on in our neighborhoods but keeping an eye out for our neighbors is always helpful,” says O’Neil.
"Yea, I'll be more cautious," says Dubay.
