Felixstowe: Elderly lady who was reported missing never left her care home
An elderly lady whose disappearance sparked a seven-hour police search never left her care home, it emerged today.
Dorothea Turner, 84, a resident at Coniston House care home in Orwell Road, was reported missing at 7pm on Tuesday after staff could not find her anywhere in the home.
After a seven-hour search across Felixstowe, Mrs Turner, who suffers from severe dementia, was found safe and well behind a shed in the home’s garden.
Bosses at the home have confirmed they will discuss the situation next week but they remain baffled about how Mrs Turner managed to stay hidden for so long.
Rebecca Porter, the home’s joint owner, said: “She actually didn’t leave the premises but I was so pleased with the team who showed a huge amount of commitment in searching for her.
“She couldn’t have wandered from the home – we’re just baffled at how she managed it.”
Staff and police carried out several searches of the care home and across areas of Felixstowe before she was found.
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Coniston House is fitted with a number of security features which includes gates in the garden, so residents can’t get out onto the road, and security keys on the doors in the home.
Mrs Porter added that the fact that Mrs Turner never left the home proved security at the home had worked perfectly but senior staff at the home will still meet to discuss the case.
“It would be naive of us to not look at this and see what we can do to improve,” she said.
“Dorothea’s absolutely fine now.
“She had a very long lie-in on Wednesday morning and she’s back to her normal self.”
A spokeswoman for Suffolk Police said: “Mrs Turner was found concealed behind a shed by officers carrying out a further search of the grounds of the care home. She was located safe and well with an ambulance called to confirm this.”
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