Veterans’ home patient
found dead in woods

An Alzheimer’s disease patient at the Delaware Valley Veterans Home died in woods behind the home after he was permitted to walk out of the facility on New Year’s Eve.
Staff from the Far Northeast Philadelphia assisted-living and nursing facility found Harold Chapman, 75, lying face up with legs folded on the ground inside Benjamin Rush State Park at about 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, police said.
Chapman had last been seen in the home by visiting relatives more than 12 hours earlier, according to Joan Nissley, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which oversees the veterans home, on Southampton Road just east of Roosevelt Boulevard.
Chapman simply walked outside and never returned, Nissley said. Staff members at the home noticed him missing at about 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. After searching the premises for him, they notified local authorities two hours later.
Philadelphia police deployed a heat-sensing helicopter, K-9 Unit dogs and patrol units as the search intensified and spread throughout the veterans home grounds and beyond. The missing man’s relatives also returned to help in the search. But Chapman’s whereabouts remained a mystery. Later, police issued a missing person notice to the public hoping someone would spot him.
As staff continued their search the next morning, they found Chapman in the woods several hundred yards behind the home and again notified authorities. The U.S. Army veteran originally from New York state had died of natural causes. Police have classified the death as accidental. No criminal charges are expected in the case.
According to Nissley, some Alzheimer’s patients at the veterans home are prohibited from leaving the facility, but Chapman was free to leave at will. He was permitted to walk the grounds and to leave the premises altogether. The home asks all residents leaving the premises to sign out but does not require them to do so, Nissley said. Chapman did not sign out. Nissley declined to discuss details of his medical condition, citing privacy laws.
In response to the death, Nissley said, the state veterans office notified the federal Veterans Administration, which is conducting an inspection of the facility. Also, the home is conducting an internal inspection. ••