Connecticut woman with Alzheimer’s was missing for two days before being found safely in Miami after disembarking at airport – family says American Airlines was negligent in allowing plane to exit unsupervised
- María Velásquez, who has Alzheimer’s disease, went missing on Saturday after disembarking from an American Airlines flight at Miami International Airport
- The 63-year-old was found safely on Monday after a Good Samaritan spotted her on a street and noticed she was wearing a medical bracelet
- Velásquez flew into Miami from Massachusetts on Saturday and had made arrangements to be escorted to a family member who would pick them up
A woman diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disappeared from a Miami airport after disembarking without her airline-issued escort.
Born in Colombia, María Velásquez, 63, lives in Connecticut and flew from Massachusetts to Miami on Saturday to spend the vacation with her family.
When she landed at Miami International Airport, Miami-Dade Police said that Velásquez “unintentionally missed the personnel who were supposed to help her” after arriving at the gate.
Her son Jonathan Vanegas told Miami news outlets he made arrangements with American Airlines to ensure someone would accompany Velásquez to a family member who would pick them up.
But she disappeared – before reappearing two days later on Monday.
Miami-Dade Police said Colombian native María Velásquez, who has Alzheimer’s disease, was found safely on a Miami street Monday. The 63-year-old “inadvertently missed the staff assigned to assist her,” police said shortly after her American Airlines flight landed at Miami International Airport on Saturday
María Velásquez (left) was reunited with her son Jonathan Vanegas (right) on Monday, two days after the 63-year-old woman who battles Alzheimer’s disappeared from Miami International Airport after stepping off an American Airlines flight without her had risen from Massachusetts accompany
María was spotted on security camera at Miami International Airport without her airline-issued escort before disappearing on Saturday
“[I]had painful hours, suffering, thinking she was cold, starving, confused, cold,” Vanegas said. “(Was) afraid of how she would sleep.”
Miami International Airport surveillance cameras showed Velásquez walking past the person who was waiting for her to be transported in a wheelchair.
Holding a black jacket, Velásquez walked through the airport terminal and outside the terminal entrance before disappearing.
María Velásquez, who has Alzheimer’s disease, was spotted on surveillance footage at Miami International Airport on Saturday walking through the terminal after disembarking from an American Airlines flight unaccompanied. She spent two days on the streets of Miami before being spotted by a good Samaritan who alerted the police
Jonathan Vanegas said he made arrangements with American Airlines to ensure his mother would be taken to a family member who would meet her at Miami International Airport
On Monday morning, a Good Samaritan spotted Velásquez on a street and noticed she was wearing a medical bracelet before alerting police.
Vanegas said American Airlines should be held responsible for his mother leaving the airport unattended.
“For me, it was the American’s negligence because it was in the system that she had Alzheimer’s,” he said. “My mother got off the plane but no one looked at her.”