Family of Missing Woman, Police Frustrated as Time Passes

After well over a week with no signs of her ailing mother, Irvington's Debra Iannarelli is heartbroken and frustrated. 

"It takes a toll on your body and mind," she said Tuesday. "We're doing everything we can; trying to keep busy."

On Friday, August 5, Iannarelli's mother Betty Iannarelli left her home on South Broadway in Irvington sometime around midnight. procured from village hall showed Ms. Iannarelli, 84,—who suffers from Alzheimer's disease—walking up Main Street at around 2 a.m. on Friday. After that, nobody knows anything for sure.

—and police said they received three calls about possible sightings of Ms. Iannarelli in response to widespread media coverage of the event.

"We received calls about possible sightings in New York City and Mahopac," said Irvington's Sgt. Michael Foley. "None have been substantiated, and two took place at the same time."

Foley said that in these cases, people often call days or even weeks after they may have seen a missing person because news coverage suddenly sparks an image in their minds.

"But that makes it very hard to follow up on those leads," he said. One of the reported sightings was on a subway in Queens. 

For Debra Iannarelli and her family, the search is beginning to feel like an increasingly solitary effort. 

"I'm angry with the police," Iannarelli said. "I call and they tell me the sergeant has gone home for the night. It amazes me how much I had to do on my own. I'm very disappointed."

Over the weekend, Iannarelli went across Westchester to places in which she has previously lived disseminating flyers and asking people to tell their friends and neighbors to keep their eyes open for her mother.

According to Michele Muir, director of communications and public policy for the Alzheimer's Association for the Hudson Valley, Rockland and Westchester, Iannarelli is doing exactly the right thing.

"Sixty percent of people with Alzheimer's wander," Muir said. "And they're often trying to finish old business that they haven't done for years, like going to work or going to the post office. For people with Alzheimer's time and place become distorted."

Muir says that while the Alzheimer's Association hears of sufferers 'eloping' fairly regularly, this case in Irvington has garnered special attention because it's very rare that the missing person isn't found within a day.

"In this region, we hear about cases of people wandering for long periods of time about three or four times a year," Muir continued. "And it's only the people with the physical capability to do so."

What's difficult about locating a missing person with cognitive impairment, Muir said, is that he or she may not look sick. "That's why the Alzheimer's Association encourages people to wear ID's or tracking devices at all times."

There are 40,000 Alzheimer's sufferers in the seven counties that comprise the organization's local chapter—"and the longer people live, the greater their chances of developing the illness."

Both law enforcement and Iannarelli's family have vowed to keep search efforts for Iannarelli alive. They ask anyone who sees a woman who fits her description—black hair, five feet tall and about 150 pounds—to call Irvington police immediately at (914) 591-8080. 

"We'll keep looking until we find something," Foley said.

Learn more about the Alzheimer's Association here. Also, call their hotline 1-800-272-3900.