Elderly runaway Melbourne couple spark major police search
Updated ,first published
An elderly husband and wife who sparked a massive police search after escaping from their care home have been found 170 kilometers from Melbourne.
Victoria Police shared the news just before 8pm on Sunday. The pair were found at Maryborough, 58 kilometers north of Ballarat in the Central Goldfields.
“We are pleased to report that missing Wheelers Hill couple Colin and Claudette have been found safe in the Maryborough area,” a spokesman said.
Earlier on Sunday, Colin and Claudette’s family said the couple had recently been moved into respite care and may have left their accommodation to be together.
“They didn’t really like being in care,” daughter Linda McKelvie told reporters. “They just want to be together and be at home.”
Acting police inspector Luke McDonald said the couple left their care home near Ferntree Gully Road in Wheelers Hill on Saturday morning before heading to The Glen and Brandon Park shopping centres.
There they visited a pharmacy, filled some prescriptions, and sat down for a cup of coffee at their favorite café.
Their 2015 Mazda2, registration 1ER8FK, was later seen traveling west on the Monash Highway at around 5.30pm. That was the last time the couple, whose surnames were not released by police, was seen before they were found more than 24 hours later.
The couple tried to leave the facility earlier in the week but was unsuccessful.
On Sunday afternoon, McKelvie said the couple’s behavior was very unusual.
“They can’t be reached by phone and that’s very out of character for them. We’re really concerned and want to make sure they’re okay,” he said.
Claudette, 83, is recovering from several fractures following a series of recent falls and uses a wheelchair. He takes daily medication for high blood pressure and a condition that causes him to lose consciousness for about 20 minutes at a time.
He was also recently diagnosed with vascular dementia, a condition that causes a decline in thinking and reasoning skills due to reduced impulse flow to the brain.
Colin, 89, is very fit and active for his age, but was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He suffers from short-term memory loss and can become confused.
The family first became aware the couple were missing on Saturday evening when their neighbor and close friend Sharon Jeikishor went to check on their home in Glen Waverley and noticed it was quiet.
“No lights were on. I knocked on the door several times, but there was no answer,” Jeikishor said.
The couple were together for 65 years after meeting at a dance. According to his neighbors, Colin spotted Claudette from across the room and asked her for a spin on the dance floor, and the rest is history.
“There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other; they either leave or die,” Jeikishor said.
The couple has four grandchildren and a fifth will soon join the family.
McKelvie said Claudette, who worked as a typist at the Alfred hospital, was a social butterfly who loved to joke and laugh, while her father loved playing table tennis and telling stories.
The 89-year-old worked in the air force before taking a job with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority investigating small plane crashes.
“My mum is very sassy,” said McKelvie. “My father is more serious, but he is a very sweet, good-hearted person.”
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Marta Pascual Juanola is an investigative journalist at The Age. Before that, he was a crime and justice reporter. You can reach him securely via Signal at m.pascualjuanola@proton.me or +61 468 688 436.Connect with: X or email.
