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An elderly husband and wife who sparked a major police search after running away from their nursing home have been found 170 kilometres away from Melbourne.
Victoria Police shared the news just before 8pm on Sunday. The couple were found in Maryborough, 58 kilometres north of Ballarat in the Central Goldfields.
“We are pleased to advise that missing Wheelers Hill couple Colin and Claudette have been located safe and well in the Maryborough area,” a spokesperson said.
Earlier on Sunday, Colin and Claudette’s family said the couple had been recently placed in respite care and may have left their accommodation in order 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.”
Police acting inspector Luke McDonald said the couple checked themselves out of their nursing home near Ferntree Gully Road in Wheelers Hill on Saturday morning before travelling to The Glen and Brandon Park shopping centres.
There, they visited a pharmacy, filled out some prescriptions and sat down for a cup of coffee at their favourite cafe.
Their 2015 Mazda2 with registration 1ER8FK was later seen travelling west on the Monash Freeway about 5.30pm. That was the last sighting of the pair, whose surnames were not given by police, before they were found more than 24 hours later.
The couple had also tried to leave the facility earlier in the week, but they were unsuccessful.
On Sunday afternoon, McKelvie said the couple’s behaviour was very unusual.
“They’ve been uncontactable by phone, and it’s just so extremely out of character for them. We are just really worried and want to make sure they’re OK,” she said.
Claudette, 83, is recovering from several fractures after a series of recent falls and uses a wheelchair. She is on daily medication for high blood pressure and a condition that causes her to fall unconscious for about 20 minutes at a time.
She was also recently diagnosed with vascular dementia, a condition that causes a decline in thinking and reasoning skills due to reduced blow flow to the brain.
Colin, 89, is fairly fit and active for his age, but was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He experiences short-term memory loss and can become disoriented.
The family first noticed the couple had gone missing on Saturday evening after neighbour and close friend Sharon Jeikishor went to check their Glen Waverley house and found it silent.
“There were no lights on. I knocked a couple of times, no response,” Jeikishor said.
The couple has been together for 65 years after meeting at a dance. According to their neighbour, Colin saw Claudette from the other side of the room and asked her for a spin around the dance floor, and the rest is history.
“There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other; they’re their ride or die,” Jeikishor said.
The couple have four great-granddaughters, with a fifth due to join the family soon.
McKelvie said Claudette, who used to work as a typist at The Alfred hospital, is a social butterfly who loves a joke and a good laugh, while her father loves to play table tennis and tell stories.
The 89-year-old was in the air force before he took on a role with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority investigating small plane crashes.
“Mum is very cheeky,” McKelvie said. “Dad is more serious, but he is a very lovely, kindhearted person.”
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Marta Pascual Juanola is an investigative journalist at The Age. Before that, she was a crime and justice reporter. You can contact her securely via m.pascualjuanola@proton.me or Signal on +61 468 688 436.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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