(NewsNation) — A missing man was found dead in a nursing home closet more than a week later and his family is demanding answers.
Elin Etienne, 71, was found dead on Monday at North Dadde Nursing and Rehab in North Miami, Florida, according to his family, his body decomposing in a closet.
Etienne had been at the facility since early August following a brain aneurysm. He was supposed to spend 12 weeks there for physical therapy and rehabilitation.
Etienne was reported missing on Aug. 22, when someone who the family believes works at the facility reached out to them and said they couldn’t find him.
According to the family, the facility told them Etienne had checked himself out but would not provide a form to verify his signature, and that’s when they called the police.
Etienne’s niece said the facility refused to let the family search inside for him and that they had been driving around the city looking for him.
On Monday, Etienne’s family said they were told that a body had been found in the nursing home, wearing a bracelet with his name on it and the same clothing he’d had on when he was last seen.
The North Dade Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has a two-star rating out of five, and only one star for health inspections, according to Medicare’s website. It has also faced more than $23,000 in federal penalties in the last three years. According to Medicare, facilities can be penalized for issues that include “serious health” citations or failures to correct citations for an extended period of time.
North Miami police confirmed a person had been found dead at the center but did not release a name and said a cause and manner of death are still pending.