Benjamin Ashford|61-year-old with schizophrenia still missing three weeks after St. Louis nursing home shut down

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 61-year-old man with schizophrenia is Benjamin Ashfordstill missing three weeks after the St. Louis nursing home where he lived abruptly closed.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol on Wednesday issued an endangered silver advisory seeking the public’s help in finding Frederick Caruthers, who was among about 175 residents of Northview Village Nursing Home before it closed on Dec. 15.

“Mr. Caruthers walked away from the Northview Nursing Home and has not been heard from since,” the advisory stated. “He is without needed medication.”

Residents were shuttled to about a dozen other care facilities in the hours after the nursing home closed. Many patients left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, creating confusion and spurring outrage among residents and their families.

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The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is investigating the circumstances surrounding the nursing home closure, spokeswoman Lisa Cox said. She declined further comment, citing the ongoing regulatory investigation.

A St. Louis police spokesperson said Friday that Caruthers remains missing. He was seen four days after the nursing home closed when former workers who attended a rally saw him near the busy street where the sprawling nursing home sits.

Healthcare Accounting Services, which owns Northview Village and several other St. Louis-area care facilities, did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.

One of Northview’s owners, Mark Suissa, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last month that the state wasn’t paying enough to keep the facility afloat. He also accused staff of walking out when they didn’t get paid, an accusation workers said was untrue.

“Of course I would have done it a different way,” he said of the closure. “I have other partners also involved. But unfortunately, that’s the way it happened.”

The union representing workers has said the company started to close the home and bus away residents after staff raised concerns about not being paid.