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Crime & Safety

Missing Nursing Home Patient Last Seen Begging for Money

Police continue to search for 62-year-old man who vanished Sunday evening after walking to a nearby convenience store to buy cigarettes.

A 62-year-old Chatsworth nursing home resident remained missing a day after he vanished following a walk to buy cigarettes at a nearby 7-Eleven, according to police and the health-care facility’s administrator.

Timothy Norton left Goldstar Healthcare Center, 21820 Craggy View St., between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday, according to Goldstar administrator Emmanuel Ruiz. The facility specializes in caring for patients with dementia.

“He was seen [at 7-Eleven] by the clerk,” Ruiz said. “Since this facility opened in 1992, we haven’t had any incidents like this.”

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According to Ruiz, Norton was last seen begging for money by the 7-Eleven at the intersection of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Devonshire Street, one block north of Goldstar. Ruiz declined to say how long Norton has been a resident and if diminished faculties may have played a role in his disappearance.

“We did an extensive search last night," Sgt. William Sanders, the watch commander for the LAPD Devonshire Division, said Monday afternoon. "Multiple sources were used in an attempt to locate him and in the hope that he would return."

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He said Goldstar staff “let [Norton] step outside the facility to take care of some personal business, at which time he walked away.”

A head count Sunday night revealed Norton was missing.

“We contacted the police around 7:15” Sunday evening, Ruiz said. “We don’t allow residents to go by themselves.”

The police arrived at Goldstar at about 2:30 a.m. Monday with search dogs and stayed for about an hour, according to Ruiz. A visit Monday afternoon showed residents, many of them in wheelchairs, in a secured area beyond the lobby and in grassy, outdoor gated areas.

Sanders described Norton as white, 6-feet tall, weighing 160 pounds, with white hair, blue eyes, and a light complexion. Norton, who is a chain smoker, was wearing an orange shirt.

With temperatures in the 90s, Sanders said it is "critical" that detectives find Norton, who depends on a number of medications.

Anyone who has information about where Norton might be should immediately call 911, or the Devonshire Police Station at 818-832-0633.

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