A family wants answers after their elderly relative was found dead in the parking lot of the assisted living facility where he's lived for the past three years.
Police say that 87-year-old Lawrence Bollettini died in the bitter cold Wednesday morning after he slipped away from Arden Courts, an assisted living facility in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Detectives tell NBC10's Nefertiti Jaquez that an employee was conducting routine checks when they realized the patient, who suffers from dementia, wasn't in his room.
Police say staff member searched the building from top to bottom, but it wasn't until two hours later, around 6 a.m., that Bollettini's lifeless body was found face down in the parking lot of the facility by another employee who called 911.
Now, police and the victim's family want to know how Bollettini managed to slip away undetected from a facility that is staffed 24 hours a day, especially because you need a key-pass to get in and out of the building.
A representative with Arden Courts released this statement:
"The center is conducting an investigation into the matter including checking our security systems and procedures and is cooperating with the proper authorities."
An investigation is underway.
Photo Credit: Getty Images / Marco Di Lauro