KENT, Wash. — A Kent woman is pleading for help to find her husband who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
Linda Martinez's 81-year-old husband, Larry, has been missing since June 8 after walking out of Pied Piper Pub while Linda was at a nearby event.
“I married him at 19 and he is the focus of my life,” Martinez said.
That focus from Martinez has never wavered from her husband.
“We have been married for 60 years, we have had an amazing life, we’re very old,” said Martinez.
Larry has been dealing with Alzheimer’s for the past five years, which has been difficult at times.
“As you live together over a long period of time exasperation with each other and with the condition occur on a daily basis,” said Martinez.
This includes just last Wednesday, when they were running late for an appointment and were supposed to go to downtown Kent to help with a pop-up event.
“He said I can’t find my phone and I said 'oh rats we’re going to go anyway,' and we left his phone at home,” Martinez said.
As they were helping set-up the event around one o’clock near first and meeker, Larry said he wanted to get a beer. So, Martinez took him to nearby Pied Piper Pub, and helped him get a drink. She then told him to exit out of the front door and turn left, where she would be just about a block away. After 20 minutes, Martinez came back to check in on him and he was gone. Martinez was told by the bartender Larry had exited through the back door.
“I started yelling for him, went back to the display people and said I lost Larry, they fanned out,” said Martinez.
Martinez said after 20 minutes of searching, she called the police. Since June 8, she’s had dozens of people conduct search parties and said police have received multiple tips, with no luck.
Anyone who believes they have located Martinez is asked to contact 9-1-1.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, six in ten people dealing with Alzheimer’s and all other dementia wander at least once, with many doing so repeatedly. Officials with the Alzheimer’s Association also said if you’re ever in a similar situation to contact police immediately if your loved one hasn’t been found within 15 minutes.
They also said people who wander are usually found within 1.5 miles of where they disappeared, or tend to go where they’ve wandered in the past.