Elderly couple who both have dementia escaped from Tennessee assisted living facility by listening to staff using door keypads and using Morse code training from the military to crack the codes
- An elderly couple used their knowledge of Morse code to escape from an assisted living facility in Tennessee
- Husband and wife, who have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease deciphered and memorized the code to an electronic door lock at the home in Lebanon
- The pair went missing for about 30 minutes before a stranger found them about two blocks from the facility
- Husband revealed he had ‘previously worked with Morse code in the military’ and used the experience to learn the code of an electronic keypad
- State officials fined the Elmcroft home $2,000 as a result of the escape
- Facility has since changed all of its exit codes and has promised to check on residents more frequently
A couple living in an assisted living facility in Tennessee managed to break out of the ‘secure memory unit’ by using skills picked up in the military.
The pair who broke free from the Elmcroft in Lebanon near Nashville, managed to decipher and memorize the code used to lock an electric door.
The duo, who have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, were found wandering outside close to the facility about two blocks away for half an hour before a stranger picked them up and brought them back to the home.
An elderly couple used their knowledge of Morse code to escape from an assisted living facility in Tennessee
The husband revealed he had ‘previously worked with Morse code in the military’ and used the experience to learn the code of an electronic keypad (file photo)
Staff were unable to explain how the couple managed to escape which is secured behind a locked door with an electronic keypad.
Upon being questioned, the man explained how he had ‘previously worked with Morse code in the military’.
He used his experience to listen to staff as they punched the PIN combination into the door to make their escape according to Tennessee Department of Health documents seen by The Tennessean. The couple were not identified by name in the records.
As a result of the breakout, Elmcroft was fined $2,000 by state officials.
The facility also said that it will stop similar incidents from happening by checking on residents more frequently and make the sure man who escaped will have more ‘walking time outside the facility with a staff member present,’ according to state records.
The man’s daughter has also promised to visit more regularly to take her father outside frequently.
The pair went missing for about 30 minutes before a stranger found them about two blocks from the facility (file photo)
The Elmcroft has also changed all of the combinations on its exit doors.
‘The safety of our residents is the top priority at our senior living community. We are thankful both residents were returned to the community safely,’ a statement from the facility reads.
‘We reported the situation to the state and their family immediately after it happened and fully cooperated with the state during its review.’
The Elmcroft assisted living facility in Lebanon, Tennessee, pictured, has also changed all of the combinations on its exit doors as a result of the episode
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