When my MIL was passing in an upscale senior facility in Ventura, CA, DH spent as much time as possible with her.
She died during the night between Friday and Saturday. When Hubby got there first thing Saturday, all of her jewelry was gone. When he left on Friday night, she was wearing her diamond rings. (I know she shouldn’t have, but they were important to her, so ...) At 6 a.m. Saturday they were missing — as well as the jewelry in her dresser.
DH raised hell and asked where her stuff was and, of course, nobody knew. Hubby filed a police report, but nothing was found. My instinct is that the thief was her Hospice person; I always had a hinky feeling about her. Hubby and I both think it’s very possible that it was the administrator of the facility. He displayed conspicuous consumption relative to his position.
It happened during the night in a locked and secure building, so it had to be an inside job.
I suggest that if anyone has loved ones in a facility like this, surreptitiously plant nanny cams in the room(s).
For years it has been obvious that jobs that afford access to children — scout leaders, choir masters, youth ministers, sports coaches — are sought out by pedophiles.
It’s easy to imagine that jobs with little supervision caring for elderly people with limited mobility, failing memories and judgement, etc. are magnets for thieves and charlatans.
Jewelry, antiques, prescription meds, and I guess entire houses are up for grabs. I like your camera suggestion.
I sold all my jewelry a few years back and divided the cash among my children. I’m 82...
Oddly, it can work the other way too, occasionally. My 92-year-old MIL was in an upscale nursing home for several years before she passed. She had all of the deficits one might expect of someone that age, except one: she was a phenomenal bingo player. Bingo was a popular daily activity there and it was played for cash prizes, gathered without deduction from the fee each player paid per game. My MIL won most games, playing five or more cards simultaneously. She would walk (or hobble) away each day with a considerable sum, which she would donate to the Catholic Church whenever the priest came by each week to see her. Eventually, the families of the other residents began to wonder where their parent’s money was going, and when they found out, it was a bit of a scandal.