BRAINTREE, MASS. (WHDH) - A woman with onset dementia who was last seen leaving an assisted living facility in Attleboro over the weekend was found safe Monday in Braintree, officials said.
Dorothy Lucas, 73, was reported missing by staff members around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday after she failed to return to the facility, prompting a Silver Alert, according to the Attleboro Police Department.
Police say Lucas left the facility in the company of 51-year-old Mark Chicoine, of Attleboro. They say Chicoine had befriended Lucas while he was visiting another resident at the nursing home.
Lucas willingly left the facility with Chicoine, and police say there is no indication that she left the facility against her will. She was not harmed.
“Based on Lucas’ known medical conditions for which she requires medication and the fact that investigators had learned that she withdrew a large sum of money from a bank in Attleboro
shortly after leaving the facility, the Attleboro Police had concerns for her health and well-being,” the department said in a press release.
Lucas was taken by ambulance to a Braintree-area hospital to receive treatment and medications required for her conditions.
Police say they were concerned with the possibility of Lucas being financially exploited.
Chicoine’s involvement with Lucas’ disappearance is under investigation. He is not facing charges at this time and is said to be cooperating with investigators.
Lucas and Chicoine were spotted by an alert South Shore Plaza mall employee, who in turn notified nearby Braintree police officers.
The circumstances surrounding Lucas’ disappearance are under investigation.
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