Mississippi « Missing Alzheimer's, Dementia & Autism Research

31Mar/100

Eddy Lee ‘Ed’ Wheeler, 72, Missing

Law enforcement officers are seeking information on a man who has been reported missing from Hattiesburg and who might be in the Gulfport area.

A patient being treated for dementia, Eddy Lee ‘Ed’ Wheeler, 72, was last seen at his home at 7 a.m. Monday. Family members say that Mr. Wheeler did not indicate that he had plans to leave his home.

Mr. Wheeler is 5’8”, 200lbs. with white hair and a white goatee beard. He wears black-rimmed glasses. Also missing is his 2001 silver Nissan Frontier 4-door crew cab truck, which has a camper shell covering the entire bed. The truck should have Mississippi Navy license plate K864N.

Former University of Southern Mississippi photojournalism professor Eddy Lee 'Ed' Wheeler has been reported as missing from his Hattiesburg home. His 2001 Nissan Frontier, 4-door crew cab truck with a full camper shell over the entire bed (similar to the one in this photograph).

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Mr. Wheeler is a retired professor at the University of Southern Mississippi and enjoys camping, so a state park or other camping area might be a place he would go.

He has family in Gulfport, as well as in Ft. Worth, McKinney and Houston, Texas. These are areas where he might travel.

If you have any contact with Mr. Wheeler, please contact Hattiesburg police at 601-545-4971 or 601-545-4911.

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27Mar/100

Miss. law introduces Silver Alert

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A new Mississippi law will set up a Silver Alert system to notify the public and the authorities when an elderly person or someone with dementia or other cognitive impairment goes missing.

Governor Haley Barbour signed a bill Wednesday, and it becomes law July 1st.

The Silver Alert would be similar to the Amber Alert, which notifies law enforcement officers and the public when a child is missing.

After a family member or caretaker reports the person missing, law enforcement agencies will be able to request a Silver Alert activation. The Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Investigation will activate the alert.

The Silver Alert will use the existing Amber Alert infrastructure.

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22Mar/100

Barbara W. Ausborn Found

DAPHNE, Ala. -- An 80-year-old woman who Daphne police said is showing early signs of Alzheimer's disease and went missing this afternoon was found safe in Mississippi tonight, police said.

Barbara W. Ausborn was reported missing to police about 6:15 p.m. this evening, Lt. Judson Beedy said. She was last seen leaving her residence in Lake Forest in a white 2002 Honda Civic four-door sedan, Beedy said. He said she was located about 10 p.m. in Mississippi, and family members are en route to be reunited with her.

Beedy expressed gratitude to authorities and others who helped to locate the woman.

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16Mar/100

Mississippi Silver Alert Update

A bill that's been sent to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour would set up a Silver Alert system to notify officials when an elderly person or someone with dementia or other cognitive impairment goes missing. The system would be similar to the state's Amber Alert, which notifies law enforcement officers and the public when a child is missing.

The measure comes on the wake of legislation passed by the California state house. The California measure seeks to expand online public information on missing people.

With an increasingly large number of Americans living longer lives, issues of this nature seem to be receiving more attention from legislators. According to the AARP, six in 10 people with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia will wander away at some point, and with the baby boom generation aging, that number is expected to rise.

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12Mar/100

Mississippi Passes Silver Alert

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A bill that's been sent to Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour would set up a Silver Alert system to notify officials when an elderly person or someone with dementia or other cognitive impairment goes missing.

The system would be similar to the state's Amber Alert, which notifies law officers and the public when a child is missing.

The House passed the final version of the bill Thursday. The Senate passed it last week.

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The bill is House Bill 664.

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8Feb/100

Mississippi Silver Alert

Suzanne Ratliff hopes legislation winding through the Capitol will mean others with family members suffering from dementia won't have to deal with all she has gone through.

Two years ago, her mother, Brookhaven resident Virginia Ratliff, packed some things, got into her white 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis and drove off.

Virginia Ratliff, who was 83 and showing initial stages of memory loss and disorientation, has not been seen since.

"When people have dementia, it's very similar in a lot of ways to having a child," said Suzanne Ratliff of Memphis.

Mississippi lawmakers want to help families like Ratliff's when loved ones suffering from cognitive impairments go missing.

The House last week voted unanimously to create the Mississippi Silver Alert system. Dozens of lawmakers wore silver bead necklaces Thursday at the Capitol to show support.

A similar bill is on the Senate calendar and could be taken up this week.

Silver Alert programs, which are modeled after Amber Alert systems that track missing children, are being implemented in many states. About 25 have them.

Mississippi's bordering states - Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama - have implemented similar systems within the past two years.

Under the Silver Alert bill that passed the House, a designated coordinator would alert media with a description of the missing person and contact information for law enforcement agencies.

House Bill 664 also calls for the Mississippi Department of Transportation to inform the public through roadway sign alerts, as it does with Amber Alerts.

"These people wander off or they drive off somewhere, and you can't find them," said state Rep. Willie Bailey, D-Greenville.

Under current law, families have to wait at least 24 hours before an adult can be reported as a missing person.

More than 60 percent of people with dementia will wander at some point, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Last year, Pike County authorities found the skeletal remains of 72-year-old Alzheimer's patient Ruby Lee Wells, who had been missing for more than a year. Wells' remains were found three blocks from her home.

The increasingly familiar tragedy played out again last week on the Gulf Coast when the body of an 81-year-old Alzheimer's patient was found in a canal just 15 hours after he had been reported missing.

Bay St. Louis Police Chief Tom Burleson told Biloxi's Sun Herald that Lionel Bradley still was wearing the slippers and multicolored pajamas he was last seen wearing about 10 p.m. Feb. 1.

"We cannot act too quickly in trying to help these people," said state Rep. Roger Ishee, R-Gulfport.
To comment on this story, call Elizabeth Crisp at (601) 961-7303.

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4Feb/100

Autopsy Shows Lionel Bradley Drowned.

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (AP) - Hancock County Coroner Norma Stiglet says an autopsy shows Lionel Bradley drowned.

Stiglet ruled the 81-year-old's death an accident.

Bradley, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, was reported missing Monday night from his home. His body was found Tuesday afternoon in a canal.

Police Chief Tom Burleson tells The Sun Herald that Gulf Coast Search and Rescue helped police and firefighters look for Bradley, who had wandered from home before.

Information from: The Sun Herald, http://www.sunherald.com

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3Feb/100

Margaret Jones Found by Officer George Payne III

GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) - Suffering with Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia, 80-year-old Margaret Jones walked away from her Gulfport home and was missing for four hours. Her grateful family said the Gulfport police officer who found her and pulled her from an ice cold creek almost a mile from home is her guardian angel, who didn't think twice before jumping in to save her.

That's why we honor Officer George Payne III as a South Mississippi Hero.

"Gulfport did their job, true blue, they did their job," Margaret Evans said of the response to her mother's disappearance.

She is still in awe of the Gulfport Police Department and their quick response.

"Thirty minutes for them," Evans said. "I saw the cruisers just circling everywhere. Everywhere I went I could see cruisers out looking for her. It was just awesome, everybody, it was just on the spot."

Mrs. Jones was gone for four hours. They thought she walked north, so that's where all of the officers searched, except Officer George Payne III. Payne headed south in his patrol car, then got out and searched on foot.

Payne didn't even know a Brickyard Bayou runoff creek lay beyond the woods. He had no idea what drew him into the thick, covered brush.

Officer George Payne III of the Gulfport Police Department said, "I can't say besides diving intervention. I mean it, there was just something, there was absolutely no reason for me to look at the tree line, but something just led me to it."

And it led him directly to her.

"All I could see was her head, and the water was actually up to her neck, right around her chin," Payne said. "She had walked into the water and her legs got stuck in the mud, up to her knees, to her thighs and then she fell backwards and her arms got stuck in the mud. And with the water coming in, it was steadily rising up."

Finding this "needle in a haystack" her daughter said, was miraculous. Officer Steve Kelly who was first on the scene to help Payne agreed. He is also very proud of his fellow officer.

"You know to get in there, gear on, boots on and everything, went down that bank, jumped in the mud, just pulled her up with a better way to breathe," Officer Steve Kelly remembered. "She was sinking in the mud, it's just unbelievable."

"I said, 'Miss Maggie, how did you get in this water?'" Payne remembered. "She said, 'I don't know, but you can take me anywhere you want.' So I was able to get my arms underneath her and get her unclogged from the mud and get rescue to her."

Gulfport police and fire descended on the scene quickly. Ms. Jones was treated for hypothermia and a broken pinkie finger. Her whole family is forever grateful to their hero and to the police department who seem to truly care about the citizens they serve so bravely.

"The entire force, everybody, the lieutenants, the captains, the officers and they've stopped by and checked on her since then," Evans said.

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