Related: Alzheimer's disease takes its toll on families, caregivers
When you hear the words "missing persons" you think abduction or teen runaway.
But often, a missing person is someone with dementia or advanced symptoms of Alzheimer's disease who has wandered off and can't remember how to get home, experts say.
"For people who have Alzheimer's or dementia, about 60 percent will wander off or get lost at some time. With 5 million people with Alzheimer's in America, well, you do the math," said Jean Dickinson, vice president of communications for the Alzheimer's Association California Southland Chapter.
In Los Angeles County, the numbers of missing elderly adults being reported to law enforcement is a growing problem.
"It is a changing world because people are living longer," said Sheriff's Homicide Detective Christine Carns, who works the Missing Persons Unit.
Of the 2,700 cases of missing adults in the county last year, about 60 were elderly adults suffering from the effects of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, Carns said. Most of those reported missing are people with mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or severe depression, she said.
In 2011, the California Department of Justice reported 35,242 missing adults. Of those, 1,932 were "dependent adults," the third highest category after "unknown circumstances" at 3,348 and "voluntary
missing" at 29,248. The number of missing adults with physical or mental limitations was far ahead of the 256 classified as "lost" and the 34 as a result of "stranger abduction."
Of the missing adults investigated by the Sheriff's Department with dementia or Alzheimer's, the vast majority are those living at home, Carns said. Those in special-care facilities are less likely to wander off, she said. However, that did not hold true for 82-year-old Abenicio Chavez, who walked away from the South Pasadena Convalescent Hospital on April 26 and as of Friday night had not been found.
Often, if a person with Alzheimer's is not found within the first 24 hours, the likelihood of survival decreases significantly. For example, a Southern California woman that Dickinson chose not to name ended up in a drainage ditch and nearly died of exposure a short time after being reported missing.
Others may not look like they are in danger to police or sheriff's deputies, she said. They are dressed well and have money in their pockets. Some board a bus or hop in a car and drive long distances only to become disoriented miles from home. "A woman from Orange County recently drove and drove and ended up in Arizona. She stopped for gas and asked someone where is Newport Beach, where she was from," Dickinson said. "They are looking for familiarity."
Carns said patrol cops and deputies do not receive special training to handle dementia or Alzheimer's patients who go missing.
She can call the CHP and ask them to issue a Silver Alert, which tells other law enforcement agencies in the state and the media when a person age 65 or older is missing and believed to be in danger. The Silver Alert system became effective Jan. 1 and so far has been helpful in safely locating missing elderly residents in Orange County and in Elk Grove, a community near Sacramento.
Unlike an Amber Alert, which is issued when authorities suspect a missing child has been abducted, Silver Alerts cannot be shown on electronic freeway signs.
The Alzheimer's Association recommends those with advanced symptoms wear a medical alert bracelet which lets caregivers know if the relative has wandered off. Other families use perimeter monitors which sound an alarm when a person moves beyond a backyard, or what Dickinson called their "comfort zones."
South Pasadena police said Chavez, missing for about a week from the convalescent hospital, was not wearing a medical alert bracelet.
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