Missing woman Maree Wilkins declared dead four years after rest-home escape
8 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
5 minutes to read
Video from 2017: Police search for missing 84-year-old Maree Wilkins in Whangateau near Leigh. Video / North Shore, Rodney & West Auckland Police
Video from 2017: Police search for missing 84-year-old Maree Wilkins in Whangateau near Leigh. Video / North Shore, Rodney & West Auckland Police
A woman who disappeared from a dementia care facility in 2017 has been declared dead by the coroner in a report which blames staff for the length of time before she was discovered missing.
Helen Maree Dale Wilkins, known best as Maree, disappeared from Leigh Road Cottage some time between 5.30pm on November 7, 2017, when she was seen in the garden and when a staff member noticed she was missing at 6.45am the next morning.
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Rest home s failure to check on elderly woman meant it took 12 hours to realise she was missing • Source:
The failure of rest home staff to check on an elderly woman the night she disappeared meant it took 12 hours to realise she was missing, the coroner says. Helen Maree Dale Wilkins Source: NZ Police
Helen Maree Dale Wilkins, 85, was reported missing from the Leigh Road Cottage rest home, north of Auckland, in November 2017.
Despite extensive searches, she has never been found, and the matter was referred to the coroner in September 2018.
In her just-released findings, Coroner Debra Bell has concluded Wilkins died.
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The failure of rest home staff to check on an elderly woman the night she disappeared meant it took 12 hours to realise she was missing, the coroner says.
A coroner has concluded that the woman who went missing in November 2017 is dead. Stock photo
Photo: 123RF
Helen Maree Dale Wilkins, 85, was reported missing from the Leigh Road Cottage rest home, north of Auckland, in November 2017.
Despite extensive searches, she has never been found, and the matter was referred to the coroner in September 2018.
In her just-released findings, Coroner Debra Bell has concluded Wilkins died.
Bell ruled out suicide and said the police had no leads of a substantial nature to support any foul play.