CALGARY — The Calgary police elder abuse unit is investigating after some rental-home tenants fled in the middle of the night, leaving a brain-damaged senior alone in the house without any food or water.
CTV reports that the 69-year-old woman was taken to hospital for a checkup after she was discovered by the landlord in the northeast-area residence on Monday.
Officials say they did not know the unidentified woman was in the house, and that her family did not contact anyone about her after they left.
The landlord, Sandy Ert, says she had recently served the tenants an eviction notice after they got behind in their rent.
Ert says the people who fled — two women who had a baby — left the house littered with household items, garbage, rotting food and dirty diapers.
It's believed the senior's relatives may have gone to British Columbia, but attempts to contact them have not been successful.
Ert said despite the home's condition and being out thousands of dollars in rent, the biggest shock was finding the woman in bed with no one else in the house.
"She’s a very sweet old lady. She’s naive. What kind of family would leave her behind?"
Ert said she visited the home earlier in the weekend to show it to some potential renters. The tenants were in the process of packing, but nothing for the senior appeared to be packed.
Ert’s relatives helped her clean the home all day Monday. There was no immediate word on whether the tenants caused any damage to the house.
