Caretaker At Large After Ditching Patients: Gwinnett Police

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A woman with dementia reported missing earlier this month has yet to be found, and the Gwinnett County police are accusing her caretaker of neglecting other patients, leaving them hungry and without medications. The police are asking the public for tips to locate Linda Kimble, 59, and her caretaker, Kishia Mitchell, identified as a 50-year-old health care worker.

Kimble was discharged in August from Eastside Medical Center in Snellville and transferred to Mitchell's care. But Kimble's daughter told police that Mitchell barred her from visiting her mother.

When contacted, Mitchell told an officer that she didn't know of Kimble's whereabouts, and that she was no longer responsible for her, TV station Fox 5 Atlanta reported on Oct. 15. The police went to the home to which Kimble was transferred and found it to be abandoned.

More Charges Filed

On Wednesday, the Gwinnett police said that on Oct. 12, officers responded to a Wells Fargo bank in the Stone Mountain area after a 26-year old man walked in and said he had not seen Mitchell, his caretaker, for several days and had not eaten.

The officers took the unidentified man back to his home in the 2900 block of Deshong Drive, where they found nine adults "with varying levels of special needs," the police said in a statement.

No caretaker was present, and the officers "learned that the residents had not eaten or had access to medications in several days," the police said.

Eight of the residents were relocated, and the ninth adult declined an offer to be relocated, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Mitchell already has been charged with a probation violation, and as a result of the Stone Mountain incident, she faces new charges, the police said Wednesday. She remains at large, and police detectives are searching for her.

MORE: Woman Missing After Caretaker Blocked Visits: Gwinnett Police

The new charges include two counts of exploitation of a disabled or elder person and two counts of running an unlicensed personal care home.

The police are also searching for Linda Kimble; they said Wednesday that it's "imperative that Linda is located so we can make sure her physical and medical needs are being met."

She is described as a black woman with black hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds.

If anyone has information to share in this case, they should contact Gwinnett police detectives at 770-513-5300.

To remain anonymous, tipsters should contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or click here. Crime Stoppers tipsters can receive a cash reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment in this case.