Police are using dogs and all-terrain vehicles to try and find a missing Alzheimer's patient who walked away from her nursing home.
Nursing home officials said Mary Hicks Cole may be confused and in danger. They said the recent loss of her friend might have prompted her to walk off.
Workers noticed Cole was missing from a nursing home on Shamrock Drive near Tipperary Place, in east Charlotte at about 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Firefighters, police officers and members of the community have been focusing their search on a wooded area near the nursing home.
"I love my momma. She was the best momma in the whole world," said her daughter, Tammy Terry.
Terry couldn't hold back the tears as she spoke about her mother in the lobby of the Liberty Nursing Center.
"She wouldn't eat so we could have more food. She always did all she could for us," said Terry.
Police bloodhounds have been out twice searching for Cole, but officers think the rain washed away any scent that might have been used to find Cole.
"She doesn't know to get out of the rain, or how to get in and out of the cold," said Terry.
Officials said the search area is growing because they said Cole is a very mobile person. They are looking in a six-mile radius around the nursing home.
Terry is urging neighbors to keep an eye out for her mother.
"I want her home. If anybody can help find her, please help us," said Terry.
Nursing home officials don't know how Cole got out of the building. They said she was in a locked room and had a bracelet on that prevented an elevator from moving in the event she stepped inside.
Cole was last seen wearing blue jeans and a pink turtleneck with flowers on it.
If you see her, please call 911.
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