An elderly Australian couple who suffer from dementia left a heartbreaking message for their daughter before they escaped their care home.
On Saturday (July 11), Colin and Claudette Geraghty, who have been married for 65 years, left Melbourne's Melba Retirement Village at about 11.15 a.m., just four days after arriving at the care facility.
Highlights
- Colin and Claudette Geraghty, an elderly Australian couple with dementia, escaped their care home just four days after admission.
- Colin reassured their daughter with a message, saying he would take care of Claudette despite their medical conditions.
- The couple traveled over 100 miles and were found 32 hours later near Maryborough, far from Melbourne.
Image credits: Victoria Police
Their daughter, Linda McKelvie, explained that the couple did not feel comfortable at the facility.
“They didn't really like being in care and I think they just wanted to be home together,” she said, per The Daily Mail.
“Dad thinks he can help her … they feel like all their choices are being taken away.”
Because of her parents’ age—Colin is 89 and Claudette is 83— and medical conditions, McKelvie became incredibly concerned upon learning of their escape.
Image credits: Victoria Police
As she explained, Colin has Alzheimer's and is unaware of his memory loss, while Claudette is living with vascular dementia and suffers from seizures.
On the day the couple went missing, Colin left his daughter a message acknowledging her fears and reassuring her that they would be safe.
He texted her, “Don't worry, thank you for your help, I'll make sure I look after her.”
The couple had reportedly attempted to escape the care home before, but police were called to prevent them from leaving.
Image credits: Victoria Police
Desperate to know her parents’ whereabouts, McKelvie texted back on Saturday, “Please come home mum and dad, we are all so worried about you.
Even the grandkids. We are all so worried about you.”
The couple’s neighbor Sharon Jeikishore alerted staff when she tried to check in on them and received no answer.
Image credits: Victoria Police
“There’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other, they’re ride or d*e,” Jeikishore said, per Nine Australia.
McKelvie also revealed that she missed a call from them before they disappeared.
The Geraghtys were eventually located 32 hours after they left Melba Retirement Village.
Image credits: Nellie Melba Retirement Village
They were found 104 miles (167 km) northwest of Melbourne, near the town of Maryborough, on Sunday night.
“I think because they were recently in respite care it was such a change for them,” McKelvie explained.
The pair had taken their white 2015 Mazda 2 and gone on an adventure.
Image credits: Victoria Police
During this time, they reportedly stopped at the Glen Shopping Centre on Springvale Road to buy their daily medication.
The Geraghtys, who have four great-grandchildren and another on the way, married in their twenties after meeting on the dance floor.
The escape follows a similar case from 2021 in Tennessee, where an elderly couple with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease briefly fled from a care facility after the husband used his military knowledge of Morse code to figure out the electronic door's security code.
Image credits: 9 NEWS
According to a Newsweek report, the pair walked out of the facility in Lebanon, Tennessee, after the man deciphered the code.
They were found by a stranger about 30 minutes later and returned to the care home.
The man later explained that he had "previously worked with Morse code in the military" and had used that experience to crack the code.
"Resident #1 stated that he was able to listen to the code when staff punched in the numbers and was able to figure out the number for the numeric to exit the memory care unit," read the Tennessee Board For Licensing Health Care Facilities' report.
The facility, Elmcroft, was reportedly fined $2,000 following the incident on March 2, 2021, and subsequently changed all exit codes.
Following the incident, Elmcroft decided to schedule "walking time outside the facility with a staff member present" for the man in order to "decrease these exit-seeking behaviors."
Image credits: 9 NEWS
His daughter also said she would take him out of Elmcroft more regularly.
A survey by the Pew Research Center published in February 2026 found that, among older adults who live in their own home without a caregiver, most (60%) said they would want to stay in their home and have someone care for them if they could no longer care for themselves.
Meanwhile, 18% said they would prefer to move into an assisted living facility, while 11% said they would like to move in with a family member.
Image credits: 9 NEWS
Upper-income older adults were more likely to say they would prefer to move into assisted living than those with lower incomes.
Other respondents said they would prefer to move into a nursing home or choose another arrangement.
