An 83-year-old man who went missing at an assisted living facility in Florida two weeks ago was allegedly found dead inside a walk-in freezer at the facility, according to FOX 13.
William Eugene Ray went missing from his room at The Waverly Assisted Living and Memory Care in Trinity, FOX 13 reported. Ray, who had shown signs of dementia, was moved to the facility by his family in May. His daughter, Kristen Spencer, installed a Ring camera inside his room so she could keep an eye on him when she couldn’t be at the facility.
Spencer told FOX 13 that she noticed her father getting more confused. Around two weeks ago, he was acting abnormally, and when she checked the Ring camera, she saw that he wasn’t in his room.
“I woke up the next morning, and when I looked at the Ring camera, the light was on, and he was not in his room,” Spencer explained.
Spencer said she called her mother, then the facility to alert them that her dad was missing. A staff member told her they found her father in a walk-in freezer.
“But then the next words out of [the staff member’s] mouth [were], ‘He’s in the freezer.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean he’s in the freezer?,’” Spencer recalled the incident to FOX 13.
According to the outlet, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office responded to the facility, and Pasco County Fire Rescue transported Ray to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Preliminary information shows his death was accidental, and no foul play is suspected, the sheriff’s office said. (RELATED: 19 People Feared Dead In Tennessee Munitions Plant Explosion)
Spencer said when she checked the Ring camera, she noticed her dad leave his room at 12:30 a.m., which was hours before he was found. She is also seeking answers about what happened to her father. Spencer said there were no issues when her father first entered the facility in May.
“There [were] no issues right at the beginning. As time progressed, though, you see, when you’re there all the time, you see things, and so you see these little things that start to send up concerns,” Spencer told FOX 13. Her concerns are what prompted her to install the Ring camera in his room.
Spencer also questioned whether the facility would’ve found her father had she not intervened.
“If we had not called the facility, when would they have found [him]?” she said.
A spokesperson from the Waverly told the outlet they were not allowed to comment on the incident, but couldn’t “accept a false narrative being pressed upon our residents and their families.” The facility is fully cooperating with an investigation, Tampa Bay 28 reported, citing a spokesperson.
The Pasco Sheriff’s Office confirmed it responded to the facility in an email to the Daily Caller.
“Pasco Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a welfare check in the area of Trinity on Sept. 26 around 8 a.m. Upon arrival, PSO deputies located an adult man in a walk-in freezer. Pasco County Fire Rescue responded and transported the victim for medical treatment, where he was later pronounced deceased.”
“Preliminary information suggests the incident was accidental, and no foul play is suspected. This was an isolated incident, and there is no public safety threat. The investigation remains ongoing, and no additional information is available at this time,” the sheriff’s office said.