Missing Northland man with Alzheimer's found dead after day-long search

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Family and friends of an elderly Northland man received the news they were dreading Sunday night. After a day of searching for 75-year-old George Macias, his body was discovered in a ravine.

His body was found before 9:00 p.m. behind a home adjacent to Maple Woods Community College on NE Barry Road.

Macias vanished from the Cherry Hill Nursing Home at 724 NE 79th Terrace late Sunday morning.

Macias was an Alzheimer's patient, so a search started immediately in 100-degree heat. Dozens of people looked by foot and vehicle before a Kansas City K9 unit joined the search.

His son, Doug Macias, said his father had been living with Alzheimer's since 2008. During a 2010 family trip to Arkansas, Doug said his father disappeared for a day-and-a-half before he was discovered four hours away.

"That was pretty devastating because that's when it kind of really sank in, like, man it's gotten really bad," said Doug.

Doug said his father wore an ankle monitor which should alert nursing home staff if he leaves the building. Doug said the monitor had worked in the past, but apparently malfunctioned this time.