UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A family mourning the loss of a father tried to get his belongings from his room, but everything was gone.
It happened at the Woodridge Assisted Living Facility in Monroe.
The family said they then saw some of the employees and the residents with their father’s possessions. However, the owner said it was just one big mix-up and thought they donated their loved one’s items to the facility.
Now they are sharing with other families in hopes of preventing this from happening to them.
“So, this was about two years ago, not long after we moved him in,” said Ray Rodgers’ son Rodney.
Rodney said the Woodridge Assisted Living Facility was his father’s home until he passed away on January 9.
“We went to go retrieve some of my father’s belongings ... 48 hours after he passed away,” Rodney explained.
Rodney goes on to say that his father’s door was roped off with caution tape and a note that read, “Do Not Enter. Family Only.” But as he entered, he was hit with yet another wall of grief.
“It’s empty. All of his personal effects are gone,” Rodney expressed. “He had a ton of stuffed animals that were Tar Heel stuffed that were all over some of the wardrobes in the room. Every bit of that was missing.”
After contacting the facility, Rodney said he learned who snagged his father’s keepsakes.
“Other residents had basically rummaged through the room and taken things,” Rodney said. “We didn’t realize it was employees also that took stuff.”
Shortly after a police report was filed, Rodney received boxes of his father’s items from the facility.
“To see the amount that was taken out from employees was just gut-wrenching. To think that they would pilfer through all of his stuff and remove it without having the family’s consent. It just took away that closure,” Rodney elaborated.
He said it also took away the opportunity to lay his father to rest in the way he would have wanted.
“With him being a devoted Tar Heel fan, we wanted to put some of his memorabilia out at the funeral home. And a lot of that, just about everything, was gone,” said Rodney.
He expressed that he hopes no one else will have to go through what his family did.
“I want to encourage people, when, if you have to put your loved one in a facility, to double-check the policies and procedures,” Rodney said.
Channel 9 has reached out to the Woodridge Assisted Living Facility regarding this incident. We have yet to hear back.
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