E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSView more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Police and an Arlington family are searching for a 77-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease who has been missing for more than a week.
Maria Arrocha has not been heard from since she wandered out of her home on Dec. 18. She lives with her daughter on Arbor Lane in Arlington.
The Arrochas said their Christmas spirits were down this year.
"It was a different day -- no celebration," said Martin Arrocha, her son. "We couldn't eat. We couldn't have dinner. It was a very difficult day."
Read more about the family's search on NBCDFW.com
Maria Arrocha has not been able to take much-needed medications, and her family fears she is lost, cold and confused.
"This is like a nightmare," grandson Ricardo Arrocha said. "We don't know what to do. We go out and look for her, but with no results yet."
Maria Arrocha is Hispanic, stands about 5'5" tall and weighs approximately 180 pounds. She has black and gray hair and brown eyes.
"She was always hugging us, kissing us. She was the best," Ricardo Arrocha said.
The family has been distributing fliers in both English and Spanish throughout North Texas. There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to her location.
"We're going to keep trying, passing out fliers, talking to the people, talking to the police," son Martin Arrocha said.
Authorities urge people to search around their properties -- backyards, garages and sheds -- because Arrocha is likely wandering around disoriented.
Arlington police say they continue to receive tips but nothing has panned out. They are relying on the public's help in this case, stressing that even the smallest tip could be enough to help bring Maria Arrocha back home.
Anyone who has seen Maria Arrocha is asked to call police by dialing 911 or 817-459-5600 and stay with her until officers arrive.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Snow, rain and winds hit Northeast as deadly winter storm continues
- Police seek 7-foot tall robber on Chicago transit
- 'We are being shot at': Ambushed NY firefighters' chilling plea for help
- Sandy relief center in New York looted, vandalized over Christmas
- Twitter users flaunt guns brought by Santa
- Glimpse the new face of job security
- Video: Reports of Pyrex cookware breakage on the rise
Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Oh God. How awful. Where is she? Please find her safe.
Amen! I touch and agree with you on this prayer.
Hope you find the dear lady right away.
I could not imagine if this were my Mother or Grandmother. OMG man. I hope she is not hurt and somehow safe but with the disease she has, she may not know how to react and or even protect herself from the elements. We need extra prayers and hope she is found safe...
If we can only come up with that micro-chip implant I've said in the past, they'd know where she is in minutes even (God forbid) if she was kidnapped or something.
This goes for children and everyone who wants to participate. I know I would....
Now I know there are going to be a lot of people come on here and say the Government etc... will always know where you are. The way I see it, if you have nothing to hide, then what's your problem?!
If a molester grabs a kid off the street (possibly mine or yours) the police would be able to locate them within minutes. This goes for "anybody". Women, men, even bad people who got caught up in something and are thrown in a truck and on the way to their demise....
I dunno about the microchip thing--I volunteer at an animal shelter and the pet microchips are a passive measure, it wouldn't actively help locate a missing pet. I must have missed a prior post when you talked about that, Creekdog; could you point me in the direction of that?
In point of fact, if it's a workable idea I'd like one of those for my youngest son, who is autistic. He takes a bus to a school on the other side of the city and his bus has let him off in the wrong neighborhood before.
I certainly wouldn't mind having a micro chip implant so my family could find me! Like you said though, they put them in animals for identification purposes but not tracking. I wonder why they wouldn't go the extra step and make them trackable via GPS? Hunters use something (radio collars?) to track their dogs while hunting deer. I'm not familiar with the wearable necklace things with a call button.
I agree with Creek Dog... I've nothing to hide either. Hope she is found safe and soon!
The microchip in dogs works differently; it's a passive device. The chip is simply coded with a number; when the scanner passes over the chip it flashes a number and the person who sees it then has to contact the manufacturer to find out what name and address are linked to the chip. many people don;t keep name and address current with the manufacturer; the chip can also 'migrate' under the skin and end up somewhere you don't expect to find it (had one scan in a dog's paw once); if your dog is stolen the vet may take the thief's word that the dog is theirs and never check the chip; someone who has stolen the dog/cat and sold it to a research lab isn't going to report he chip because they WANT animals who have been well-cared for and raised as family pets--the animal is likely to be docile, well-behaved, and disease-free.
(I volunteer at an inner-city animal shelter where we offer microchips on newly-adopted dogs.)
If the chip were to be used as an active tracking device it would have to have a power source enabling it to send out signal. This implies a battery--which then brings up the question of how you change that battery/recharge it, etc... researchers studying ocean-going animals tag them with transmitters, but eventually the battery wears out too.
Creekdog said he had an idea for a microchip implant--I'm curious as to the details. If it's feasible/doable, there might be some interesting possibilities there...
I hope she's warm and safe.
Terrible story. The more time that elapses, the worse it is.
Certainly hope she is found safe & sound, but I have to ask: why is this instance of a missing person making it to the national media and getting so much attention? What about the hundreds of other missing people/children? I have never understood why some get all the hype & attention, while others get nothing at all. Doesn't seem fair, but not sure what the solution is (if there is one).
She was missing for a week before this went national. Sheesh! She hardly got a lot of "hype & attention" before this, did she? In the state where I live we have Amber alerts. Children don't go missing very long without national coverage. Knowing how much Tex. authorities care for latinos, they probably made them wait a week to go national.
The only reason people hate latinos (or blacks) is because of how much latinos and blacks say how oppressed they are and how victimized they are.
Perhaps some of the kids of Arlington will spend some of their vacation time looking for this woman. God speed for a safe return.
It is sad that this woman is lost and in need of medication. The people of this state should rally around finding her, just like they would if she was a "Holloway" or someone "special." Well, she is special to this family. So, pool all the resources together there in Texas and find her!!!
I found her....the old lady is wondering around in the shed in the back of my property.....How do you let someone like this wonder off? I hope whoever was in charge of keeping an eye on her feels like crap.....dumbass.
Excuse me sir, not really sure where you're coming from but your post is unwarranted and does not help out the situation either.
The person who was keeping and eye on her doesn't feel like "crap" as you put it, they're most likely not eating, not sleeping and crying all the time.
Watch out what you hope for, you just may step in it.
Have a nice day...
Thank you Creekdog!! Agree 100%!
I hope she is found safe.
A woman who is only 5'5" and weighs 180 lbs....should not be that hard to find, not like she's a twig. S he has been gone since December 18th where has the family been having a siesta???Appears that there may have been too much celebration and they forgot about the responsibility of watching someone with this condition, they are like a 2 year old child and need constant supervision. Pray for her safe return and may her caregiver be held responsible.
They've been looking for her and passing out flyers in English and Spanish. It's pretty mean of you to imply they haven't been doing anything just because the news finally decided to report the story.
at 5-5 and 190lbs she couldnt have gotten far. check the local krispy kreme.
The Alzheimer's Association, www.alz.org, provides a Medic-Alert Safe Return bracelet. If a person cannot afford the cost of enrollment, scholarships are available. One in six people diagnosed with dementia will wander - please pin or post the website, www.alz.org.
Thank you.
Needs to have some kind of tracking chip in it.
Very good idea on the Tracking chip for Alzheimers patients. In fact there should be a law stating that All people with Alzheimers have a Chip inserted in their arm or back. Makes sense to me.
Do they have one of these for disabled children? I have an autistic son whose bus driver has let him off the bus in the wrong neighborhood before.
Amanda- I think I've heard of apps that can track other phones on your plan. Maybe you could check into that...
I can't give my autistic son a cellphone. First off, he doesn't communicate the same way the rest of us do and wouldn't be able to use it--and secondly, he is very, very good at taking things, particularly machines and mechanical devices, apart.
He has a t-shirt that says 'I void warranties' for a reason. It's a warning! Hide your electronics!
(oh...he's 9 but operates at about a 5 year old's understanding.)
Hmmm.. I was thinking you could just leave it in a hidden pocket of a backpack or something, just to track him with as needed. But if he's an expert at disassembly, he'd have it out and apart pretty quickly. Maybe look into locator things hikers use? Maybe there's something that's just a little medallion you can activate remotely if you need to?
I had a set of military-grade dog tags stamped with his name, disability type, address, and phone number and put it on him. He was enchanted with the idea of 'playing soldier' and left them on. So when the driver let him off in a strange neighborhood, and someone stopped him to ask who he was, they saw the dog tags and called the police right away. I am just really really lucky that the first person who saw him was a decent person and not a child molester.
Getting upset with the bus company and threatening to sue them and the school if they did it again has also worked...so far. It's just scary to think of my little guy wandering alone by himself in a darkened neighborhood--especially as we live in a fairly high-crime city.
Alzheimers is one of the Worst if not The Worst Disease there is. It destroys all the years of someones memory. They don't even recognize their own children sometimes. It is a Devastating Disease for the whole family.
My mother died of Alzheimers 4 yrs ago, she had the Safe Return bracelet. Thank goodness she never wandered off or got lost. My prayers to the family and her safe return.
It doesn't really seem like this woman could have much of a quality life anyway. Never finding the body saves the family the cremation or burial expense.
Great Blessed Goddess, how heartless can you be? Knowing is better than not knowing. ALWAYS.
If someone has loved ones on a plane that crashes, do they not even try to find out if there are survivors or claim the body because it saves cremation/burial expense?
If a child is kidnapped, do parents not even look for the child in case the child is dead and they can save cremation/burial expense?
If your loved one was kidnapped by a serial killer and the killer told you he murdered the person, wouldn't you want him to tell you where he buried the body so you can give them a proper resting place?
All those soldiers who went MIA in Vietnam, is it better that their families never knew what happened to them so they were saved burial/cremation expenses?
Think, will you?
Amanda, ignore Joe, he is a troll, normally his posts are collasped
I think Joe is trying to get people on a roll. Please don't listen to him.
As much as I like to give everyone the benefit of doubt, in this case I must reluctantly agree with both of you. A quick scan of his previous posts reveals nothing of real value to add to a discussion.
When are families taking care of Alzheimers patients going to learn? THEY WANDER OFF !!!! Put deadbolts and high chain locks on all the doors. Then put contact alarms on all the doors so that even if they manage to get the door open, AN ALARM GOES OFF LETTING YOU KNOW THE DOOR IS OPEN!! JEEEEEZZZZZ Is it worth finding your mother/father/grandmother/grandfather decomposing in some neighbors shed because you didn't want to spend $100 on locks? If you won't take responsibility, then apply for medicaid and put them in a facility that will care about them, and protect them. I don't know how these people will live with themselves when her body is found.
I hope they find her alive and well. My best wishes go with the family.