Daughter Held in Elderly Man Abandonment

A daughter of an Alzheimer’s patient abandoned at an Idaho racetrack was arrested Monday and charged with kidnaping him, an official said.

John Kingery, 82, was found in March at a dog racing track in Coeur d’Alene, Ida. The labels had been cut from his clothing, and a note misidentifying him was attached to his wheelchair. A bag of diapers was next to his chair. Kingery did not know who he was or where he was from.

Nursing home workers recognized Kingery on television. Children from his first marriage also recognized him and took him to Kentucky last month to live in a nursing home near them.

Two weeks earlier, Kingery had been removed from a Portland, Ore., nursing home by Sue Gifford, a daughter by his second marriage. She had clashed with officials at the nursing home over his $600-a-month pension.

Gifford placed her father at another nursing home, but removed him March 21. Kingery was found later that day at the greyhound track.

Gifford, 40, was indicted on charges of second-degree kidnaping and perjury and was arrested Monday afternoon, said Sherre Calouri, spokeswoman for the Washington County sheriff’s office.

Gifford was jailed in lieu of $30,000 bail. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison.

Gifford also has pleaded innocent to charges that she stole nearly $10,000 that was supposed to pay for nursing home care for her father. She is accused of cashing his pension checks while Medicaid paid his nursing home bills. Trial is scheduled for June 18 on those charges.