Body of missing man found in hospital crawl space
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VANCOUVER, B.C. — The body of an 80-year-old man who disappeared from an emergency room at Vancouver General Hospital a month ago has been found in a crawl space at the hospital.
The body of Allen Goulding, who was being treated for pneumonia and dementia, was discovered late Monday in a mechanical area that is off-limits to patients, after relatives insisted on a second search of the hospital, the largest one in British Columbia.
Goulding apparently wandered off from a stretcher in the emergency area after arriving by ambulance Dec. 28 from the seniors home where he lived.
The emergency-room charge nurse noticed he was missing about two hours later. A search for him continued through Jan. 3, said Dr. John Shepherd, the hospital's executive director of medical affairs.
A meeting between hospital staff and Goulding's family four days ago resulted in the second search.
John Vogel said Goulding was found in a fetal position in the space between floors.