An 80-year-old woman was found frozen to death Sunday morning in Cartierville.
The woman, who suffered from Alzheimer's Disease, was reported missing by her son at 5:30 a.m. and found at 7 a.m. in a parking lot of a strip mall on Laurentian Blvd. not far from her home.
The woman left her home in a similar fashion last year, but was found safe.
Second death this winter
This is the second elderly woman afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease to have died after wandering from her home this winter; the body of Maria del Carmen Serrano, 73, was found near the Hippodrome de Montreal after she was reported missing three days earlier.
Serrano's son, Cayeano Jesus Serrano, said he was saddened to hear of another death.
"Today when I heard the news, I was crying, because this lady should not die," he said.
GPS tracking?
Montreal police are preparing to release the results of a study on the feasibility of providing GPS bracelets to people with Alzheimer's and other medical conditions that make them prone to wandering.
Not all experts in aging agree with the tracking device.
"It absolutely waives one's right to privacy, which is there in the charter of human rights," said Annette Rudy, executive director of the Griffith McConnell residence, a home for the elderly in Cote St. Luc.
At the residence, high-risk patients wear a magnetic bracelet that triggers an alarm and automatically locks doors should patients get to close to the exits.
"Even if one thinks the person is safe and not at risk for wandering, the person has to be extremely closely supervised at all times. Prevention is the key."
Serrano, meantime, said he supports the implementation of a GPS tracking system as an additional measure to prevent further disappearances.
"How many people have to die to have the system in Montreal? We should have the system," he said.
