Missing Lakeland man with Alzheimer’s found dead in flooded yard after wandering away: PCSO

LAKELAND, Fla. - The body of a missing 83-year-old Lakeland man has been found by Polk County deputies.

Deputies say Marco Grillo, who was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, wandered away Thursday night after Hurricane Milton pummeled Polk County.

Grillo’s wife told detectives that the couple had been sleeping in their van at the front of their Alderman Road neighborhood due to their home being flooded by heavy rain during Hurricane Milton.

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the agency’s air unit spotted the victim's body floating beneath the surface of the flood water behind the couple's home around 7:30 a.m. on Friday.

READ: Several Bay Area rivers under flood warnings as levels rise after Hurricane Milton

In addition to Alzheimer’s, deputies say Grillo also had a heart condition and bad circulation.

"Despite Mr. Grillo being found in his backyard, the area was so flooded that our Aviation Unit had to direct deputies on an airboat to him," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. "Our prayers are with his family."

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