JB (Southfield DPW-CERT)
12-03-2008, 10:59 PM
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/DR_SATAN_666/JamesFranklinJr.jpg
Have you seen this man?
• James B. Franklin Jr. has been missing since May 23 when he walked away from the Clare Bridge of Grand Blanc care facility on Baldwin Road in Grand Blanc Township.
• Franklin is about 5 foot 8, 170 pounds and was wearing blue jeans and a dark jacket. He may have been wearing glasses, police said.
• He may have been headed for Flint and anyone with information is asked to call 911 or township police at (810) 424-2611.
GRAND BLANC TWP., Michigan(JUNE 3RD, 2008) -- James B. Franklin Jr. isn't the first resident to crawl out of a window at the Clare Bridge of Grand Blanc care facility and disappear.
But unlike the woman who did the same thing in September and was found a short time later, the 75-year-old Alzheimer's patient is still missing -- nearly two weeks after he left the Baldwin Road facility on May 23.
Franklin left the facility just hours after his children had taken him there because his dementia made it too difficult for him to manage on his own.
Franklin's son, James Franklin III, said he went to drop some clothing off about 7 p.m. -- five hours after his father had checked in -- but said he was told that his father wasn't in his room and was getting acclimated to his new surroundings.
"I didn't want to get him excited," said Franklin, who had noticed a screen missing from one of the windows before he left but didn't think much of it.
Ninety minutes later, he got a call that his father was missing.
A staff member reported seeing Franklin at 7:30 p.m., but still he may have had as much as a 45-minute head start before workers at the home discovered he was gone about 8:15 p.m. when they couldn't find him for a scheduled medication, said Matt Fontana, a spokesman for Brookdale Senior Living, the Nashville-based company that operates Clare Bridge.
It appears he left through another resident's window, but Fontana said they are unsure how he managed to get out because the windows have special stops that only allow them to open five inches. The doors in the facility are alarmed.
Clare Bridge was investigated by the state last year after a similar episode involving a resident who left through a window.
In the September incident, a neighbor found a woman wandering near her home and brought her back to the facility unharmed. In that instance, the window was pushed all the way to the top, according to a report by the state Department of Human Services.
Staffers later found that five other windows there could also be opened wider than others and had them fitted with stoppers, according to the report.
The state found the home in violation of state regulations and ordered Clare Bridge to submit a corrective action plan.
Fontana said he was unaware of the September incident but said all windows at the facility are being assessed for security. The company issued a statement saying staff at Clare Bridge are "distressed" by Franklin's disappearance.
Stacie Fishell, program coordinator for the Midland-based Alzheimer's Association, said there are no statistics to show how many people with Alzheimer's wander away each year. Some are found within minutes or hours, she said.
Still, the hopes of finding an Alzheimer's patient alive decrease the longer they are missing -- although there are stories of people traveling cross-country before they are found.
"Anything is possible," said Fishell.
Often, it is difficult to spot lost Alzheimer's patients, she said.
"They don't look lost," said Fishell. "They look like they're going someplace with a purpose."
After Franklin's disappearance, police and firefighters spent the night fruitlessly combing the area with the help of a helicopter.
Since then, police have gotten sporadic tips of sightings but none have panned out.
"It seems like we're always two steps behind him," said Grand Blanc Township police Detective Scott Rust.
There has been no activity on his bank account, he doesn't have his wallet and his son doesn't think he had any money on him.
This isn't the first time Franklin has walked off, said his son.
Although family members began noticing odd behavior about three years ago, Franklin wasn't officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's until January when he walked away from his Flint church on a cold Sunday morning and was found the next morning miles away in Mt. Morris Township.
He resisted treatment and stayed with a friend after that episode, but as his mental state worsened his family decided to put him in Clare Bridge.
James B. Franklin III of Flint, son of missing James B. Franklin, Jr., says he and his family are just trying to stay hopeful.Apart from confusion, Franklin said his father is "fit as a fiddle."
Franklin believes his father may have left Clare Bridge hoping to return to Flint.
After 20 years in the Air Force where Franklin said his father became friends with Sherman Hemsley of "The Jeffersons" fame, Franklin Jr. worked as car hauler and drove a fuel gas truck in Flint.
But his biggest claim to fame was as the owner of Franklin's Mini Mart at Pasadena and Fleming where customers could see photos of Franklin and Hemsley together.
"He had the coldest beer and wine in town," said his son.
Franklin hopes that someone will recognize his father and call police.
"We're just trying to stay vigilant and hopeful," said Franklin.
http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/06/james_franklin_not_first_patie.html
Have you seen this man?
• James B. Franklin Jr. has been missing since May 23 when he walked away from the Clare Bridge of Grand Blanc care facility on Baldwin Road in Grand Blanc Township.
• Franklin is about 5 foot 8, 170 pounds and was wearing blue jeans and a dark jacket. He may have been wearing glasses, police said.
• He may have been headed for Flint and anyone with information is asked to call 911 or township police at (810) 424-2611.
GRAND BLANC TWP., Michigan(JUNE 3RD, 2008) -- James B. Franklin Jr. isn't the first resident to crawl out of a window at the Clare Bridge of Grand Blanc care facility and disappear.
But unlike the woman who did the same thing in September and was found a short time later, the 75-year-old Alzheimer's patient is still missing -- nearly two weeks after he left the Baldwin Road facility on May 23.
Franklin left the facility just hours after his children had taken him there because his dementia made it too difficult for him to manage on his own.
Franklin's son, James Franklin III, said he went to drop some clothing off about 7 p.m. -- five hours after his father had checked in -- but said he was told that his father wasn't in his room and was getting acclimated to his new surroundings.
"I didn't want to get him excited," said Franklin, who had noticed a screen missing from one of the windows before he left but didn't think much of it.
Ninety minutes later, he got a call that his father was missing.
A staff member reported seeing Franklin at 7:30 p.m., but still he may have had as much as a 45-minute head start before workers at the home discovered he was gone about 8:15 p.m. when they couldn't find him for a scheduled medication, said Matt Fontana, a spokesman for Brookdale Senior Living, the Nashville-based company that operates Clare Bridge.
It appears he left through another resident's window, but Fontana said they are unsure how he managed to get out because the windows have special stops that only allow them to open five inches. The doors in the facility are alarmed.
Clare Bridge was investigated by the state last year after a similar episode involving a resident who left through a window.
In the September incident, a neighbor found a woman wandering near her home and brought her back to the facility unharmed. In that instance, the window was pushed all the way to the top, according to a report by the state Department of Human Services.
Staffers later found that five other windows there could also be opened wider than others and had them fitted with stoppers, according to the report.
The state found the home in violation of state regulations and ordered Clare Bridge to submit a corrective action plan.
Fontana said he was unaware of the September incident but said all windows at the facility are being assessed for security. The company issued a statement saying staff at Clare Bridge are "distressed" by Franklin's disappearance.
Stacie Fishell, program coordinator for the Midland-based Alzheimer's Association, said there are no statistics to show how many people with Alzheimer's wander away each year. Some are found within minutes or hours, she said.
Still, the hopes of finding an Alzheimer's patient alive decrease the longer they are missing -- although there are stories of people traveling cross-country before they are found.
"Anything is possible," said Fishell.
Often, it is difficult to spot lost Alzheimer's patients, she said.
"They don't look lost," said Fishell. "They look like they're going someplace with a purpose."
After Franklin's disappearance, police and firefighters spent the night fruitlessly combing the area with the help of a helicopter.
Since then, police have gotten sporadic tips of sightings but none have panned out.
"It seems like we're always two steps behind him," said Grand Blanc Township police Detective Scott Rust.
There has been no activity on his bank account, he doesn't have his wallet and his son doesn't think he had any money on him.
This isn't the first time Franklin has walked off, said his son.
Although family members began noticing odd behavior about three years ago, Franklin wasn't officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's until January when he walked away from his Flint church on a cold Sunday morning and was found the next morning miles away in Mt. Morris Township.
He resisted treatment and stayed with a friend after that episode, but as his mental state worsened his family decided to put him in Clare Bridge.
James B. Franklin III of Flint, son of missing James B. Franklin, Jr., says he and his family are just trying to stay hopeful.Apart from confusion, Franklin said his father is "fit as a fiddle."
Franklin believes his father may have left Clare Bridge hoping to return to Flint.
After 20 years in the Air Force where Franklin said his father became friends with Sherman Hemsley of "The Jeffersons" fame, Franklin Jr. worked as car hauler and drove a fuel gas truck in Flint.
But his biggest claim to fame was as the owner of Franklin's Mini Mart at Pasadena and Fleming where customers could see photos of Franklin and Hemsley together.
"He had the coldest beer and wine in town," said his son.
Franklin hopes that someone will recognize his father and call police.
"We're just trying to stay vigilant and hopeful," said Franklin.
http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/06/james_franklin_not_first_patie.html