Woman With Dementia, 86, Found Dead In Neighbor's Truck
LOWER BURRELL (KDKA/AP) - An 86-year-old woman with dementia who had been missing since Saturday has been found dead in the passenger seat of her next-door neighbor's pickup truck.
According to the Westmoreland County Coroner's Office, it appears Sheila Creevey died of dehydration due to hyperthermia.
"The truck cab was locked from the inside as though she would have locked it. She had effects with her that would not lead us to believe she was robbed. In other words, she had her money and her purse was intact. So, we don't suspect and suspicious activity," Lower Burrell Police Chief Tim Weitzel said.
But an autopsy was conducted Tuesday on the Lower Burrell woman's body given the unusual circumstances surrounding her death.
"She's very small. Unfortunately, she was slumped down. From her condition, it's not clear to us yet and we're hoping the autopsy will help us a little bit more to know if she may have been out on foot for some time and then tried to return home and just got confused," Chief Weitzel said.
Creevey's family and police had been searching for her since Saturday after she apparently wandered away from her home. Creevey's family says she had dementia and was taking a new medication.
Chief Weitzel says the investigation suggests Creevey had not been in the vehicle the entire time she was missing.
Her neighbor found her body about 7 a.m. Tuesday.
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