Veteran's family seeks answers to his death after leaving VA hospital

Veteran's family seeks answers to his death after leaving hospital

By James Halpin
Staff writer

Anthony Carrol Hayes walked out the door of the Fayetteville Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Jan. 18, 2010, and vanished.

When his bones were found Sept. 26 in a field off Ramsey Street, his family was left with more questions than answers.

Now they want to know what happened to the 51-year-old Army veteran and father of six who seemed to be making progress in his treatment for bipolar disorder - and why he was out on the streets at all.

"This guy is not capable of being out there on his own. He has no family in Fayetteville, not one person. He has nowhere to go. Why would you release him?" said his wife, Cynthia Hayes. "The end result is he's not here now. He's gone. And I think that could have been prevented."

A spokesman for the VA hospital said patients are free to leave when they want as long as they are competent and do no appear to pose a threat to themselves or others.
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