A missing elderly man was found dead inside an elevator—a month after he pressed the emergency alarm.
The body of Isaak Komisarchik, 82, was found in an apartment complex’s elevator in Denver, reported the Denver Post. He had reportedly been missing since July 5— his family said he suffered from dementia.
On July 6, he had pressed the elevator alarm twice, police investigating his death told ABC 7.
Officials are investigating why no one responded to his death. His body was found at the Woodstream Village apartments, 10050 East Harvard Avenue, on July 31.
“Something is not right,” Denver Fire Department spokesman Capt. Greg Pixley was quoted by the Denver Post as saying. The alarm was recorded twice but officials never got the call.
Denver Fire was never told by complex officials that the elevator was taken out of service, the paper reported.
Police spokesman Doug Schepman told CNN: “The pushing of the call button did trigger a notification to the elevator management company, MEI Total Elevator Solutions. The elevator management company then notified the apartment managers, Greystar Management Services.”
“Staff did check two elevators in response to the notification but not the inoperable elevator, in which his body was found,” he said.
Crews conducted an inspection of the elevator in December 2016.
Tenants of the building, meanwhile, told the paper that the elevator wasn’t working, complaining of a bad smell, which ultimately led to the discovery of his body, ABC7 reported.
MEI Total Elevator Solutions, the firm that monitors the elevator, told ABC7: “We are saddened by the tragic loss of life and extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Komisarchik’s family and friends. The elevator cab where he was found is located in a parking garage that is under renovation construction and not currently in active use. We are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident with the local authorities.”
Komisarchik was last spotted wearing pajamas at 2:30 p.m. on July 5 at a nearby nursing facility, the Post reported. A widespread search was then initiated, and missing persons posters were put up around the city.
“He actually walked to the mailbox to pick up the mail and to the office to get some things from there and then he just disappeared,” said his daughter, Yelena, 9News reported. “He couldn’t take long walks. He physically couldn’t do that,” Yelena added. “He could’ve gotten disoriented at times,” she said.
Denver Medical Examiner spokesman Steven Castro said the cause of his death is undetermined, citing the fact that his body was found badly decomposed.
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Police: Woman Who Killed Children, Herself Left Behind Notes
About one month after shooting her two children, herself, and another woman, it has become apparent that a South Carolina woman left a suicide note, officials said on Wednesday, Aug. 9.
Jessica Edens, 36, and her children were found in her still-running Jeep, Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley told Greenville Online. It happened in a parking lot about 7 miles from where Edens had shot Meredith Rahme, who worked with Edens’s estranged husband.
“To my parents and my sister, I am so sorry for the pain I am causing all of you. You’ve all always been there for me and I love you all so much. I know what I have done is selfish, but I cannot live with this pain any longer. I just cannot handle it. It is too much. It hurts too much. I will no longer be in pain and my children will no longer hurt either. I am so sorry. I love you all,” Edens wrote in her letter, as released by officials to WYFF.
Edens also wrote to the father of her first child. “To Nate, I don’t know what to say. You gave me my first child. I will forever be greatful (sic) because of you. I never meant to cause you as much pain as this. I am sorry,” she said.
And she lashed out at her estranged husband.
“To Ben, you have caused me more pain than I’ve ever been in my life. You have caused my children pain,” she wrote in part. Newly obtained phone records show that Ben was with Greenville police officers when Edens called him, telling him: “Everyone you love is gone. Do you hear me? I’m about to be gone too,” Greenville Online reported. When he tried calling her, she didn’t pick up.
Edens and her estranged husband had custody issues with a child they shared, officials said.
After that, according to Pickens County Chief Deputy Creed Hashe, she came up with a plan.
“Text messages and other written content clearly indicate that Mrs. Edens developed a plan in the next couple of days that she felt would cause everlasting consequences for her husband,” he said, WSPA reported.
As CBS News reported, Edens took a .40-caliber gun from her parents’ house before the day of the shooting.
“As we struggle to understand how a parent could possibly come to a decision such as this, we have to focus on tomorrow and the opportunity to provide services and solutions to those that feel that their life and the lives of their loved ones must end in order to find peace,” Sheriff Rick Clark said in a statement.
He added:
“We live in a stressful world during difficult times but there are resources that stand ready to offer help and assist you if you feel that you have no other options left in life.
Please reach out to law enforcement so that we can be the bridge to lead you to a road of recovery. In time, you will see that all things come to pass and you too can become a stronger person with hope and faith in a brighter future.
All of us need a helping hand from time to time as we walk through life and asking for help is not a sign of weakness that any of us should be ashamed of.”
