Police have identified an elderly woman who died Thursday after walking away from an elderly care facility in Peoria.
Oralia Parra, 79, and another woman, 87, were able to get out of the Immanuel Campus of Care, near 99th and Peoria avenues, around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.Both women suffer from memory loss and were missing for 30 minutes after exiting a door that was left open.
Officers checked the care center for the missing women, as well as the nearby neighborhood, but were not successful in their search.
Twenty minutes later, Sun City police in a nearby neighborhood called Peoria police to inform them that they had located the women in a backyard. Parra had passed away from heat exposure, according to preliminary reports.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office is investigating Parra's death, though foul play is not suspected. The 87-year-old woman was taken back to the care facility and was uninjured.
Police say the women were in a secured memory care unit at the facility when they exited the building through an unsecured door.
The facility is cooperating with police as they continue to investigate. Charges have not been filed in the case.
ABC15 did some digging into the Immanuel Campus of Care facilities. Public records show 78 citations against the facility since 2014. This includes a $1,500 civil penalty for "Failure to ensure a resident's foot was adequately assessed and monitored; and ensure measures were in place to help prevent the development of a pressure sore for one resident."
Other notable citations referenced improper maintenance of medications and patient medical records, poor conditions at the facility, and failing to provide required medical tests.
State public records show the facility did correct all of these violations and was confirmed by the state to be in compliance. The plan of correction has been filed with the state health department.
