Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 06/05/2006

Missing Since:

Missing Since 06/05/2006

Missing From:

Missing From Mission Viejo, California

Classification:

Classification Endangered Missing

Gender:

Male

Race:

Race White

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 02/23/1935 (89)

Age:

Age 71 years old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 5’6, 160 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Clothing/Jewelry Description A dark blue sweatsuit or blue jeans, dark blue slippers, a silver Alzheimer’s Alert bracelet on his left wrist, and possibly a white t-shirt.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Graying light brown hair, blue/hazel eyes. Nelms has the following tattoos: unspecified tattoos on his forearm and right bicep, a military ID on his right calf, a star on one earlobe and an anchor on the other earlobe, a mermaid on his chest, and “smile now, cry later” masks on his back. He has a surgical scar on his right ankle, which has been previously fractured. Nelms fractured his right hip shortly before his disappearance and has pins inserted into it. He wears a full set of dentures and is also supposed to wear eyeglasses, but he did not have his glasses on at the time of his disappearance. He may go by his first and middle initials, T.K.

Details of Disappearance:

On June 5, 2006, sometime between 5:30 and 7:00 AM, Mr. Nelms disappeared from near the Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California. He had Alzheimer’s disease and a habit of wandering, which is why he lived in a secure facility called Paragon Gardens. Even though he was supposed to be safely locked in his unit, he managed to leave unnoticed.

Mr. Nelms had been at Paragon Gardens since December 2005. He had a hip fracture in March 2006, was treated in a hospital, and returned to the facility in April. He’s never been seen or heard from since he disappeared.

Two months later, in August 2006, a lawsuit was filed against Paragon Gardens. The lawsuit claimed the facility didn’t properly watch over its residents and that it was unsafe and even abusive.

Agency:

Orange County Sheriff’s Office 714-647-7000

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