Man With Schizophrenia Found After Leaving Nursing Home

UPDATE Jan 10, 2024 12:00 AM CST

A 61-year-old man with schizophrenia—who had been missing for more than three weeks since the St. Louis nursing home where he lived abruptly closed—was found Tuesday about a mile away, authorities said. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Tuesday that Frederick Caruthers was found at a local restaurant, the AP reports. A member of the public saw him and phoned the police. Sgt. Charles Wall, of the St. Louis police department, said the officers received a call Tuesday at around 10am that Caruthers had been spotted on the 4900 block of Natural Bridge Avenue—about a mile north of the shuttered nursing home. When officers located him, Caruthers had no obvious signs of injury, Wall said. He was taken to an area hospital for evaluation.

Jan 5, 2024 2:30 PM CST

A 61-year-old man with schizophrenia is still missing three weeks after the St. Louis nursing home where he lived abruptly closed. The Missouri State Highway Patrol on Wednesday issued an Endangered SILVER Advisory seeking the public's help in finding Frederick Caruthers, who was among about 175 residents of Northview Village Nursing Home before it closed on Dec. 15, per the AP. "Mr. Caruthers walked away from the Northview nursing home and has not been heard from since," the advisory stated. "He is without needed medication."

Residents were shuttled to about a dozen other care facilities in the hours after the nursing home closed. Many patients left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, creating confusion and spurring outrage among residents and their families. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is investigating the circumstances surrounding the nursing home closure, spokeswoman Lisa Cox said. She declined further comment, citing the ongoing regulatory investigation.

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A St. Louis police spokesperson said Friday that Caruthers remains missing. He was seen four days after the nursing home closed when former workers who attended a rally saw him near the busy street where the sprawling nursing home sits. Per FOX 2, police believe that Caruthers, who has no known family, is still in the area; he's been known to hang out at a nearby White Castle. Police ask anyone with information on Caruthers' whereabouts to call 911 or St. Louis police at 314-444-5504, per KSDK. He's said to be 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weigh about 225 pounds. He was last seen wearing a hooded brown jacket, khakis, and dark sneakers with white shoelaces. (More missing person stories.)