Daughter calls for reconsideration after father's disappearance – Winnipeg Free Press

For nearly five months, Britt Moberg suffered sleepless nights, despair and uncertainty over the fate of her father, a Winnipeg homeless man who disappeared from his home last December.

Now, the concerned daughter has written to provincial health authorities asking them to investigate the serious incident and explore ways to protect other members of Manitoba's aging population.

“I believe the reason I'm doing this (appeal) is because my father, unfortunately, has passed away. It was not a natural death, it was a traumatic death and it could have been prevented if he had been given timely and appropriate support,” Moberg said on Sunday.

“It's always on my mind. I haven't slept properly in months.”

Moberg, whose 81-year-old father, Earl, left their Gilmore Avenue home on the evening of Dec. 12, said failures and deficiencies in Manitoba's health care system have created unsafe conditions for his father and unnecessary stress on his family.

She wrote a nine-page letter to the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara on April 26, describing her father's relationship with the health care system and explaining why she considers his death a serious incident.

According to provincial legislation, a critical incident describes “any unexpected event that occurs during the provision of health care services to an individual and results in serious and unwanted consequences.”

It includes injuries, disability and death unrelated to the underlying health condition.

Moberg's letter describes a grueling and protracted battle with the health care system, as his family tried and failed repeatedly to secure support services for Earl after his November 2019 diagnosis.

As her condition worsened, she spent months on a waiting list for rest and home care. Meanwhile, Moberg's mother—also a senior and Earl's primary caregiver—was left to develop a safety plan without advice or supervision.

He fitted the elderly man with a GPS tracker, but he often confusedly removed it, the letter said.

“It would be very helpful for the occupational therapist to bring physical samples of the devices available, educate them on the different options, and assist them with their installation and use,” Moberg wrote in his letter. the family could have considered installing other technology, including door sensors or repeatable tracking methods.

Earl received a limited amount of temporary care that was interrupted due to difficulties with accompanying transportation services. From the time she was diagnosed to the day she was last seen, she spent just four hours in home care. As a result, his family is dealing with their caregiver's severe burns, Moberg said.

A week after Earl's disappearance, WRHA contacted Moberg's mother to say she was now eligible for placement in a long-term care facility, the letter said.

“He was reassured that if it was determined that my father would go into long-term care from the hospital and not have to wait in the community. As anyone can understand, it was a bitter irony that there was no further contact with the WRHA after that,” Moberg said.

Moberg described Earl as a loving father and husband who dedicated his career to teaching in Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba.

He wants to review how the province supports and develops care plans for people with dementia. He also wants an improved GPS tracking system for such seniors, more space in respite and home care services, increased communication between health care providers and more reliable education and support for caregivers.

On Sunday, Moberg gathered with about 40 people, including family, friends and Bear Clan patrol members, to search the trails, creek banks and bushes along the Chief Peguis Trail for Earl's evidence.

An hours-long search of the area where he was believed to have been last seen was unsuccessful.

Moberg said she will continue to look for him in the coming weeks, hoping the spring's warming will reveal some signs of her father.

He asked people living in the area to do the same.

“People may have forgotten that my father is missing and it's already healing … just know that there's someone who hasn't been found,” she said.

As of Sunday, the Moberg family had not heard back from the province regarding the possibility of a landmark hearing.

They also asked the province to consider improving the silver alert system. Currently, missing senior alerts are not sent to cell phones, but the family would like to see that change, Moberg said.

He noted that alerts should be targeted to specific geographic areas rather than province-wide to prevent people from suffering from “alert fatigue” — a term used to describe those who have become desensitized to electronic security alerts.

“I just don't want to see that happen to anybody,” he said.

“My heart goes out to anyone who has a loved one who is missing right now. I want to say that you have a voice, and I encourage people to share that voice. Contact your council of caucus, contact the minister of health – contact and share that this is something that is important to you.”

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Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press' city desk. Since joining the paper in 2022, he's been on a blizzard, documenting protests and checking under bridges for potential incidents.

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