SALMON ARM– The family of a Salmon Arm senior who went missing earlier this month and was later found dead is raising questions about what caused to the tragedy.
Christopher Allbury’s partially decomposed remains were found in an area on 6th Street NE and Lakeshore Drive in Salmon Arm on May 20.
He had been missing for two weeks before his body was found.
READ MORE: Human remains found in Salmon Arm confirmed as those of missing man
Christopher Allbury’s older brother, Tony Allbury, told Global News that his brother had alcoholic dementia.
The senior was taken to hospital by ambulance one evening in early May complaining of knee problems.
Christopher was a resident of McGuire Lake Congregate Living. The facility’s owner, Dan Shields, said it was around 11:30 p.m. that Christopher was taken to hospital.
According to his brother, Christopher was released around 1:30 the next morning.
However, it seems McGuire Lake Congregate Living never got a phone call to notify them Christopher was heading home.
There are conflicting reports about whether Allbury made it inside the independent living facility that night, but either way, he went missing.
“He just simply vanished. The home did nothing at all at that time because they thought that he was in the hospital,” said Tony Allbury.
The staff of the independent living facility called police days later. They originally assumed he was still in the hospital.
That report on May 10 triggered a search for Christopher.
Now that his brother’s body has been found, partially decomposed, Tony is raising questions against the hospital’s protocols.
“The hospital is a great hospital, it has always served us well but something went wrong on that particular night,” said Tony.
Tony believes the hospital should have notified someone at the independent living facility, which says it has staff on 24/7, that Christopher had been discharged.
It’s believed Christopher died by getting hung up on a rope that residents used in the past to get down the bank to go to Marine Park.
Tony says the rope got caught around Christopher’s ankle.
Du Toit says the discharge processes were properly followed in this case.
The health authority says it will do a review as a result of the case.
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