A 74-year-old Cleveland woman who has dementia and speaks little English has been missing since Sunday evening, and police say they searched the area where she was last seen without finding her. Beatrice Niyonteze left her home on the city's East Side just two hours before officers were even notified, giving her a narrow but troubling head start that has so far kept her location unknown.
The Cleveland Division of Police Fourth District is now asking the public for information about Niyonteze's whereabouts, according to Cleveland 19 News. Officers responded to the 11700 block of Lenacrave at 5:30 p.m. Sunday after a report of a missing adult, the station reported, and police said Niyonteze had already left her home two hours earlier, meaning she had been gone for several hours before the search even began.
A Description for Searchers to Watch For
Police described Niyonteze as 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, per the station's report. She uses a cane when walking and often wears African cultural bonnets, officers said, and she may currently be wearing a white jacket paired with a red-and-white dress.
Officers also noted two details that could complicate the search: English is not Niyonteze's first language, and she suffers from dementia, according to the same account. Those factors could make it harder for her to seek help or communicate her situation if approached by strangers, and they underscore why police are leaning on the public for leads.
The risk of getting lost is a recognized concern in dementia care: the Alzheimer’s Association says six in 10 people living with dementia wander at least once, and many do so repeatedly. The organization advises beginning a search in the surrounding area; it says many people who wander are found within 1.5 miles of where they disappeared. That general guidance does not establish where Niyonteze may be, but it underscores why nearby residents and businesses could have useful information. The Alzheimer’s Association’s guidance on dementia and wandering also urges families to contact emergency services promptly when someone is missing.
Search Efforts So Far Come Up Empty
Officers searched the area around the Lenacrave block where Niyonteze was last known to be but were unable to locate her, the outlet reported. No further details on her last known direction of travel have been released.
Ohio law provides for a statewide alert program to help locate certain missing adults, including people 65 or older or people with a mental impairment. An alert is not automatic: the law requires law enforcement to confirm the person is missing and determine that the disappearance poses a credible threat of immediate serious bodily harm or death; there must also be enough descriptive information for an alert to help. The statute does not establish whether an alert was considered or activated in Niyonteze’s case. Ohio’s alert-program law sets out those criteria.
Anyone with information about Beatrice Niyonteze or her whereabouts is asked to contact the Cleveland Division of Police Fourth District at (216) 623-5400 or the non-emergency number at (216) 621-1234.
