Betty Iannarelli

August 5, 2011 7:19 PM
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Betty Iannarelli (Photo: CBS 2)

IRVINGTON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Where is she?

On Friday, the family of a missing 84-year-old woman who suffers from Alzheimer’s made a desperate plea for help.

Betty Iannarelli has been missing from the home she shares with daughter Donna Fusco since late Thursday night, reports CBS 2’s Pablo Guzman.

“She’s probably dehydrated. And I’m sure she’s so confused. She doesn’t know where she is,” Fusco said, fighting through tears. “So if anybody has any … Get the message please! Please don’t overlook her!”

Fusco’s brother, Robert, drove in from Massachusetts. Betty’s other daughter, Debra Iannarelli, lives across the street.

“And I am just asking everybody’s help. Please! Don’t hurt her! Don’t harm her! Please, just return her!” Debra said.

Betty Iannarelli is about 5-foot-4 and was last seen wearing an aqua-blue terrycloth dress and sandals. Irvington Police are conducting a thorough search with the assistance of police in neighboring towns, as well as the Westchester County Police and New York State Troopers.

“It was around 10 p.m. that they went to bed. And they thought everybody was in, secure for the night. But, apparently, when one of them woke up around 2-3 o’clock, they noticed she was missing,” Irvington Police Chief Michael Cerone said.

Dobbs Ferry Harbor Patrol has cruised the Hudson River shoreline. Steps that she would take have been traced and retraced.

Donna Fusco said through sobs the situation has been “very … extremely hard” on her and the rest of her family. Betty’s children said their mom is very friendly. And if you say “Betty” she’ll stop. Then, they said, please call the police.

The family said Betty wandered off two weeks ago, but was found about a half hour later at a deli up the block.

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There is a video I cannot embed at the above link. It shows Betty's grown children pleading for her safe return.

OMG, how horrible and sad! I cannot imagine if that were my Dad and it could be any of us with elderly parents that get confused!  
I so hope that she's in a hospital, unidentified because I don't know how someone at her age could survive the brutal weather NY has been going thru'!
I so hope she's found alive and well.  

11:51 PM, Sep. 6, 2011
IRVINGTON — The day after a groundskeeper discovered the body of Betty Iannarelli, police said the weather and concealed location prevented dogs and officers from finding her sooner.

The Westchester County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the body is Iannarelli Tuesday evening. Officially, the cause and manner of 84-year-old woman's death has been listed as undetermined.

Iannarelli had Alzheimer's disease and disappeared from her home Aug. 4.

The body was found between a 1-1/2-foot stone wall and a plastic fence in a marshy part of a private estate in the northern section of the Matthiessen Park area. Irvington police Chief Michael Cerone said it appeared she wandered to the remote area and died where she was found.

"Once she went down behind the wall and between the fence, there was no way you could find her," he said. "We checked that area several times, not realizing that we were in the vicinity of where she was. It was not picked up by the human eye. The cadaver dogs didn't pick it up" and last month's heat and rain may have interfered with the dogs getting a scent, he said.

The body was recovered just a half-mile from the South Broadway apartment Iannarelli shared with her daughter, Donna Fusco, and less than a quarter-mile from where she was spotted on surveillance video around 2 a.m. Aug. 5.

The grim discovery comes after a month of agonizing searches that turned up no clues and left Iannarelli's family desperate for answers.

"I don't know what we could have done differently," Cerone said. "We had helicopters, boats, dogs, people. We did grid searches ... we were all over that area. It's heartbreaking for us and heartwrenching for us to see this outcome. We were all hoping for a positive outcome."

The fact that Iannarelli got disoriented at night may explain why her body was found in an out-of-the-way place, said Meg Boyce, director of programs and services with the Alzheimer's Association's Hudson Valley-Rockland-Westchester chapter.

"If someone were to explore their environment at nighttime, they can wind up in obscure areas," she said. "You are walking in the pitch black, and you can't see where you are going. You are frightened and anxious."

Boyce reiterated the importance of alert and tracking programs for people with Alzheimer's. An estimated 60 percent to 70 percent of patients will wander, the Alzheimer's Association said.

"We always encourage all of our family members that, even before the person has a tendency to explore their environment, to put a plan in place," she said.

Iannarelli's other daughter, Debra Iannarelli, declined to comment Tuesday. Meanwhile, a Facebook page dedicated to Betty Iannarelli quickly filled with condolences.

"Betty is now at peace, and I hope her children and grandchildren also find that peace," one message read. "Always know that you were her world and will remain in her heart, as she will always remain in yours."
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I am so sorry to read this. Look how long ago she was found. Raine .