An elderly U.S. Navy veteran, 83-year-old William Eugene Ray, was found dead inside a walk-in freezer in a Florida assisted living facility.
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As reported by Fox 13, Ray suffered from dementia, a condition that required constant care. That is why his family moved him to The Waverly Assisted Living and Memory Care in Trinity, Florida.
While his condition worsened, however, the family initially saw that he was doing fine at the facility. However, they soon started noticing concerning signs, specifically regarding staffing.
“There was no issues right at the beginning,” Kristen Spencer, Ray’s daughter, told the outlet. “As time progressed, though, you see, when you’re there all the time, you see things, and so you see these little things that start to send up concerns.”
Given their increasing concerns, Spencer installed a Ring camera in her father’s room. That way, she could verify her father was doing ok, even if she was not physically present. However, on one September night, Spencer noticed her father was acting abnormally.
The following morning, on September 26, things took a turn for the worse. After waking up, the woman checked the Ring camera, and her father was nowhere to be found. She reviewed the recorded footage, which showed Ray leaving his room at around 12:30 a.m.
Spencer called her mother and then the facility, alerting staff of Ray’s disappearance, asking them to find them.
Veteran Found Dead
Tragically, one staff member confirmed the heartbreaking and disturbing truth to Spencer. He was found locked inside a walk-in freezer in the facility.
The Pasco Sheriff’s Office responded to The Waverly at around 8 a.m. Emergency responders took William Eugene Ray to a local hospital. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead.
While the PSO preliminarily stated that Ray’s death was accidental and no foul play was suspected, his family still has many questions.
“If we had not called the facility, when would they have found them?” Spencer asked. She alleged that basic safety measures were not in place, adding, “When you have vulnerable people in a place, you have to secure these areas.”
A spokesman with the assisted living facility shared a statement with Fox 13, saying that they “cannot accept a false narrative being pressed upon our residents and their families.”
“The safety, dignity, and well-being of our residents is — and always will be — our highest priority,” the statement read. “We have never experienced an incident of this nature in the many years of operating in the Assisted Living space. Our community is deeply saddened by this heartbreaking loss. The grief felt by our entire staff is indescribable.”
The spokesman added that their residents “have a right to independence” and “expect freedom in their daily lives and routines.”
According to his obituary, William Eugene Ray began serving in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17. He ended up serving in the Navy for 36 years, later pursuing a career as a registered land surveyor. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, his children, and his grandchildren.