An 89-year-old woman who went missing Friday night from an assisted living and memory care facility where she lived in Marietta was found dead Monday morning, authorities said.
Patricia Miele was last seen at about 11 p.m. Friday at Greenwood Place but was not reported missing until the next morning, according to Marietta police. She was new to the facility and had been showing signs of confusion before she disappeared, police said.
“I want to pass on our sympathy to the family and loved ones of Mrs. Miele,” Marietta police Chief David Beam said in a statement. “In Mrs. Miele, we saw our own mothers and grandmothers and we wanted nothing more than to find her safely and return her to you. While that wasn’t the outcome, know that our efforts were genuine, thorough and led by a servant’s heart.”
According to police spokesman Officer Chuck McPhilamy, investigators found Miele’s body in the lake in Kennesaw Memorial Park, a cemetery next door to Greenwood Place on Whitlock Avenue. Police said Miele left her eyeglasses behind and noted that her hearing was impaired and she was likely confused.
McPhilamy said the cemetery lake had been searched with sonar over the weekend but Miele’s body could not be located. Experts on the dive team told police at the time that if the body was indeed in the lake, it would likely surface within a few days.
A couple who wanted to help search for the missing woman visited the cemetery for a walk Monday morning and discovered Miele’s body, McPhilamy said. Police were notified around midday while much of the department was involved in a Veterans Day parade.
The discovery brought to an end a furious search that police said involved their own department and a multitude of other agencies, including Marietta Fire and Rescue, Cobb County police, the Cobb sheriff’s office and federal park rangers.
Police shared several public updates detailing parallel efforts at Greenwood Place and in the surrounding area. The 70-bed assisted living facility was searched multiple times by different teams, and investigators interviewed everyone there who had recently had contact with Miele. A Mattie’s Call alert was sent out with Miele’s description. Police said there was no physical evidence of Miele leaving the facility, but also noted that “there is no video surveillance available at or near the memory care facility.”
Police have not explained why Greenwood Place was not able to supply video footage to help the investigation, but the facility has previously used video to exonerate its own employees, according to inspection reports from the Georgia Department of Community Health.
On Aug. 26, DCH inspectors reviewed video of an earlier incident in which a resident tipped over in a recliner, causing the heavy chair to fall on top of them, the report said. The resident died the next day, but the facility administrator said he reviewed the video and did not think any staff members were at fault. The DCH inspectors cited Greenwood Place for a violation in that case, and the facility has been noted for at least six other violations this year.
Greenwood Place officials extended their condolences to Miele’s family but did not comment otherwise on the case, citing patient confidentiality and the ongoing investigation.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of our assisted living residents at Greenwood Place and our hearts go out to the family with our deepest sympathies,” a spokeswoman for the facility told the AJC. “Please know, our onsite team remains completely dedicated to the service and care of our community members.”
While investigators worked the missing person case inside the building, Marietta police and other agencies conducted a ground search of the area around the property, utilizing drones, K-9 units, a helicopter and watercraft, police said. Searchers also visited nearby businesses and neighbors to check video footage wherever there appeared to be security cameras. Marietta High School, just across Whitlock Avenue, was also searched.
According to police, a miscommunication with another agency led to a number of private citizens volunteering to join a physical search party. A private call for professionals with specialized search skills was posted to the public by mistake, and followers immediately responded.
“You would be amazed at how many people showed up in the few minutes that post was public,” Marietta police said.
The police statement emphasized that they did not need assistance with a physical search, but said the volunteers “who came have been given assignments that do help us.”
“We appreciate our amazing community and the desire to help,” police said.
Though the investigation into Miele’s death is just beginning, the case has already raised questions about the accountability of senior care facilities in Georgia and the state’s ability to enforce laws meant to protect older adults.
Earlier this year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an investigation highlighting problems with the state’s oversight of assisted living and personal care facilities and its lackluster enforcement of regulations. The article focused on Savannah Court of Lake Oconee, a Greensboro assisted living facility that has received more than 70 state violations since 2021, including cases involving the deaths of two residents.
In 2020, following an AJC investigative series documenting similar inadequacies and accountability issues, the state passed a reform package to increase its fines and requirements of senior care facilities. Savannah Court’s high number of violations and the continued use of settlement agreements — which can couch penalties by breaking them up — raised questions about the state’s commitment, as well as its ability, to follow through with its promise to hold its 1,686 assisted living and personal care facilities accountable.
— Staff writer Allie Gross contributed to this article.
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