Desperate search underway for missing Alzheimer's patient

TAMPA (FOX 13) - A family in Tampa is desperately searching for their missing elderly relative.  81-year old Maynell Scott suffers from Alzheimer's Disease and dementia.

He walked out of Belvedere Commons, an assisted living community, through an emergency exit Saturday night.

Scott was spotted on a security camera walking along Fletcher Avenue that same night.

A neighbor saw him walking down the street in the nearby Lake Magdalene community.  On Sunday morning Scott was seen knocking on doors in the Fletchers Point neighborhood.

Sheriff's deputies, search dogs, marine units, friends, family and volunteers have been scouring neighborhoods along Rome and Fletcher Avenues. Scott has now been missing for more than 48 hours and family members are very worried about his well-being.

"We are getting concerned that he's diabetic and it's been almost 48 hours and he's not had food, water or his medications," said daughter Yvonne Willis.

Scott's family says this isn't the first time he's slipped away from caretakers. In September, Scott left a daughter's home in the middle of the night and was found hours later knocking on doors nearby.

Despite his dementia, Scott is still quite mobile and friendly. He is 6-foot, 200 pounds and was last seen wearing a blue dress shirt and grey dress pants.

Scott's family members believe he is likely still in the neighborhoods near West Fletcher and North Rome Avenues in Tampa. They suspect he may have sought shelter from evening storms and are asking neighbors to check their back and side yards, garages, sheds and cars for signs of Scott.

Anyone who believes they may have seen Scott is asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at: (813) 247-8555