Widow of veteran who wandered from Daytona assisted living sues over death

DAYTONA BEACH -- Joyce Cantrell's last visit with her husband was hurtful for both.

With tears in his eyes, 85-year-old Harold Cantrell told his wife he wanted to go home, but she knew his Alzheimer's disease and other health maladies were too far along for him to go back. She and her family had made the painstaking decision to put him in a home with around-the-clock care.

Following her visit, while she was in the parking lot, Joyce Cantrell sent a text to her husband's orderly stating, "Harold is upset and I hope he gets over it."

About an hour later, Harold Cantrell slipped through the front door of the Indigo Palms Assisted Living Facility and headed east. Eighteen days later, Cantrell's decomposed body was found tangled in some fencing wire less than a mile from the Daytona Beach facility.

Joyce Cantrell, 80, is suing Indigo Palms. Her attorneys have said the facility's staff's negligence led to the "tragic death" of Harold Cantrell.

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Paul Mitchell, administrator of Indigo Palms and one of the defendants named in the lawsuit, declined to comment on the active litigation.

Joyce Cantrell did not return a phone message last week.

Harold Cantrell was admitted to the facility April 27, 2017. He was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and heart trouble. For the latter, Cantrell had a small defibrillator implanted in him, which delivered an electric shock to his heart whenever it detected an irregular heartbeat.

Cantrell, a retired school teacher and a U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Korean War, went missing July 5, 2017, less than six weeks after he was admitted.

A resident at the facility had opened the door to the lobby and Cantrell walked outside without being seen. Then he sprinted away from the property. That was at 3:33 p.m.

No one noticed Cantrell was gone until after 5 p.m., when dinner was served to residents. When employees did notice, they didn't act fast enough, not according to Joyce Cantrell.

"The staff failed to take timely and reasonable action to determine Mr. Cantrell's whereabouts," wrote Steve Watrel, a Jacksonville attorney representing the plaintiff.

Darren Pedigo, the facility's director of nursing who is also one of the defendants in the lawsuit, reviewed the security camera to determine Harold Cantrell's whereabouts and saw footage of him leaving the facility, according to court documents. That was at 5:30 p.m. He waited 15 minutes before calling 9-1-1 and waited until 6 p.m. to call Cantrell's wife, Watrel said.

For several days, volunteers went looking for Cantrell. Ten days after his disappearance, Cantrell's family, with the help of police, organized a large-scale search party that stretched across two days. Cantrell wasn't found.

On the morning of July 23, 2017, Daytona Beach police were contacted by someone at 524 Fairmount Road regarding a foul odor. When police arrived, they found Cantrell's remains.

Joyce Cantrell is seeking damages for the facility staff's "negligence" and oversights that led to her husband's death, the lawsuit states. More specifically, she is seeking wrongful death damages for the anguish she suffered and everything she lost -- including her husband's companionship.

Another wrongful death suit is pending against Indigo Palms, according to court documents. A male resident suffered a fall July 21, 2017, and died from his injuries six days later, the lawsuit stated. The man's son, who is suing Indigo Palms, has alleged that staff failed to assess his father's "high risk for falls and injury" and failed to prevent the one that led to his death. No trial date has been set in that case.

According to Agency for Health Care Administration, there are 3,104 assisted-living facilities and 683 nursing homes in Florida. In 2016 in Florida, it was reported that 507 clients left assisted living facilities, and another 168 from nursing homes.

A civil jury trial for the Cantrell case is scheduled for Sept. 3.

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