Found Deceased CA - Nancy Paulikas, 55, Los Angeles, 15 Oct 2016

[bears10]

https://patch.com/california/los-angeles/new-technology-inspired-alzheimers-patient-who-disappeared

New Technology Inspired By Alzheimer's Patient Who Disappeared

Supervisor Janice Hahn championed the issue in response to a woman who wandered away from her family at the LA County Museum of Art in 2016.

The primary solution recommended by the Bring Our Loved Ones Home task force, set up by the county about a year ago, is to offer a voluntary system of trackable bracelets for at-risk individuals.

The technology, offered by Project Lifesaver, looks like a watch. Individuals are not constantly monitored, but caretakers can inform sheriff's deputies when the person goes missing and helicopter-mounted receivers can triangulate the bracelet's position.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I haven’t read about this case but it came up in my tapatalk feed. My dad has Parkinson’s Dementia. He insists on his independence and it’s hard to take it from him. Something like this would be such a blessing for myself and my family.

 

[rats]

New article on Nancy today!

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-nancy-missing-20180407-story.html

 

[Gardener1850]

New article on Nancy today!

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-nancy-missing-20180407-story.html

From the article:

A new theory

He's not certain, of course, but his hypothetical begins like this:

Someone may have spotted Paulikas on the street, disoriented or in distress, after her disappearance. She might have been transported by emergency responders to a hospital that realized there'd be no way to get reimbursed for Paulikas' care.

So she could have been shipped to a care facility or a homeless shelter, not necessarily with her best interests in mind.

"You've heard of patient dumping," said Goldberg.

If she ended up in a licensed or unlicensed care facility, large or small, the caretaker may not have known who Paulikas was, despite statewide missing persons alerts that noted her description and severe Alzheimer's.

Or something more nefarious may have happened.

A caretaker may have recognized Paulikas but kept her identity secret, because she was a source of steady income. Monthly reimbursements for care are available through Medi-Cal for Jane Does.

Or, in an even darker scenario, maybe a care facility had a female client — let's call her Betty, says Goldberg — who died. Then along came Nancy, and to keep the money flowing without a hitch, the caretaker did a shuffle, and Nancy became Betty.

"If you have a death by natural causes, and you have a doctor willing to sign for her death certificate, she'll go straight to release by a coroner without a record," said Goldberg.

It's a creepy possibility, but probably not all that far-fetched. Medical fraud is a fact of life, and in a rapidly aging population of boomers, it's safe to assume that all manner of profiteering is in play.

The fact that this can happen so easily in this country is appalling!

 

[bluesneakers]

From the article:


The fact that this can happen so easily in this country is appalling!

And terrifying!

 

[Gardener1850]

Giving Nancy's thread a bump. Reward still stands at $30,000. The last post on the blog was May 17:

Thursday, May 17, 2018
Response from Medi-Cal office, Police and EMS log review, Upcoming podcast

Detective Rosenberger of the Manhattan Beach Police Department received a letter from the lead investigator for Medi-Cal in response to our queries. They did run a query similar to what we had asked for, found 10 potential applications, checked them all out, but none were Nancy. We are going to ask them to open the gates of their filter query a little wider to see if we can find other canidates.

Detective Rosenberger is also going to go to LAPD and other nearby city police and EMS departmetns and review the call and response logs for the day Nancy went missing and the period immnediately after that.

Also, Jason Kandel of NBC has created a new podcast, and I will post that as soon as it is on the air. Thanks Jason!

URGENT: $30,000 REWARD... Nancy Paulikas Is Still Missing!

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

wow, bumping. This is outrageous.

 

[crhedBngr]

Unfortunately, Nancy has been found deceased.

Here is the MSM link. Manhattan Beach Woman With Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Who Went Missing in 2016 Found Dead: Coroner’s Office

ETA: I'm in a bit of shock. She worked at the same place my DH and I worked at. We both spent most of our careers working there. We really didn't know her, but still - many people at our work place seemed like family. Such a sad, sad ending.

GRAPHIC:
Apparently, only a partial skull and some ribs were found. She was ID'd using DNA.

 

[Gardener1850]

The location is only about 8 miles from the Museum: Google Maps

So I guess she most likely wandered off and was there in the park most of this time? How tragic for her family. They spent so much time diligently looking for her in hospitals and nursing homes, believing she was alive. Rest in peace Nancy.

 

[crhedBngr]

The location is only about 8 miles from the Museum: Google Maps

So I guess she most likely wandered off and was there in the park most of this time? How tragic for her family. They spent so much time diligently looking for her in hospitals and nursing homes, believing she was alive. Rest in peace Nancy.

That is possible. Her remains were found in a ravine off of Mulholland Drive, which is a higher elevation than the L.A. County Museum of Art. Mulholland Drive is fairly remote (DH and I have driven it several times); it is lined with houses, but there are many canyons and unpopulated areas. I worry about foul play. I suspect we'll never know.

At least, thankfully, her family now has some closure.

RIP, Nancy.

 

[Gardener1850]

That is possible. Her remains were found in a ravine off of Mulholland Drive, which is a higher elevation than the L.A. County Museum of Art. Mulholland Drive is fairly remote (DH and I have driven it several times); it is lined with houses, but there are many canyons and unpopulated areas. I worry about foul play. I suspect we'll never know.

At least, thankfully, her family now has some closure.

RIP, Nancy.

Well she was on camera wandering away from the museum. So if it was foul play it was someone who found her after she got lost. She would have been vulnerable with her memory issues. So it's totally possible someone else on the street harmed her. But more likely IMO that she wandered into that canyon area and had no food nor water.

 

[crhedBngr]

Well she was on camera wandering away from the museum. So if it was foul play it was someone who found her after she got lost. She would have been vulnerable with her memory issues. So it's totally possible someone else on the street harmed her. But more likely IMO that she wandered into that canyon area and had no food nor water.

Yes, I agree--this would be a more likely solution.

 

[leilarose68]

Well she was on camera wandering away from the museum. So if it was foul play it was someone who found her after she got lost. She would have been vulnerable with her memory issues. So it's totally possible someone else on the street harmed her. But more likely IMO that she wandered into that canyon area and had no food nor water.

Apparently the distance she would have traveled by foot (if she did die of dehydration/exposure/falling) would have been about 10 miles. For some background, I read a statistic that said 94% of Alzheimers patients who wander are found within 1.5 miles of where they disappeared. 10 miles (a 4 hour walk according to google maps) is way way longer than that, I'm sure some of the terrain would have been challenging, and it makes me think she was much more likely taken I just have a really hard time believing she could have done a walk that incredibly long in her impaired mental state. The terrain in that area is apparently very rocky and hilly.

 

[Elainera]

Oh how sad. RIP Nancy.

 

[crhedBngr]

Apparently the distance she would have traveled by foot (if she did die of dehydration/exposure/falling) would have been about 10 miles. For some background, I read a statistic that said 94% of Alzheimers patients who wander are found within 1.5 miles of where they disappeared. 10 miles (a 4 hour walk according to google maps) is way way longer than that, I'm sure some of the terrain would have been challenging, and it makes me think she was much more likely taken I just have a really hard time believing she could have done a walk that incredibly long in her impaired mental state. The terrain in that area is apparently very rocky and hilly.

It really is, we driven through there a few times. I mapped the distance between L.A. County Museum of Art and where she was found, then I "walked" it up into the hills using Google maps. The roads up there can be very narrow, and sidewalks nonexistent.

But then, I had a thought - Nancy was an avid hiker. I don't know much about Alzheimers and what the patients think, but maybe Nancy headed to higher ground, thinking she was hiking.

Here's the article stating Nancy enjoyed hiking. She vanished 18 months ago with no leads. Now, a volunteer cop has a troubling theory about what happened to her

 

[Darling136]

Another msm
Remains Found Of Missing Manhattan Beach Woman With Alzheimer’s Disease

RIP

 

[Owl4]

How sad. Rest in peace Nancy.

 

[Scootersays]

According to the news articles/ links that have already been posted above, her skull was found in March of 2017 but her ribs were found in a different location a year and a half later. It is possible that her remains were scattered as a result of animal activity and that she didn't actually make it so deep into the canyon on her own. I haven't seen any specifics on where exactly the ribs were later found.

*Edit- To add to that, the articles only state her skull and ribs were found. Not her complete remains

 

[cybervampira]

Video at link.

Family of woman who went missing at LACMA in 2016 speaks out

 

[leilarose68]

According to the news articles/ links that have already been posted above, her skull was found in March of 2017 but her ribs were found in a different location a year and a half later. It is possible that her remains were scattered as a result of animal activity and that she didn't actually make it so deep into the canyon on her own. I haven't seen any specifics on where exactly the ribs were later found.

*Edit- To add to that, the articles only state her skull and ribs were found. Not her complete remains

That's a good point. I heard from an avid hiker local to the area who thinks it's very unlikely she would have wandered there herself because she would have had to walk over a mountain range and there were no sidewalks on the roads. If her remains were scattered/carried it would make more sense.

 

[crhedBngr]

That's a good point. I heard from an avid hiker local to the area who thinks it's very unlikely she would have wandered there herself because she would have had to walk over a mountain range and there were no sidewalks on the roads. If her remains were scattered/carried it would make more sense.

Thanks. I've been trying to figure out just why she ended up there. She, her husband and others were visiting Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) when she went missing. As LACMA is close to the Le Brea Tar Pits and fossils, I wondered if one of her interests was paleontology. Supposedly Fossil Ridge Park has fossils. Maybe she wanted to hike and see more fossils.

JMVHO.

First link below shows proximity of La Brea Tar Pits to LACMA. The second link is a blurb about Fossil Ridge Park.

Google Maps

Fossil Ridge Park | Revolvy