Missing Woman, 79, Found Dead

Police on Friday found the body of an elderly woman who had been missing for more than three weeks--in the apartment one floor below her own.

Margaret Case, who would have turned 79 last Thursday, was discovered in the apartment complex, near Delaware and Main streets, police said.

Case had heart problems and suffered from a disease similar to Alzheimer’s. Police believe she may have accidentally wandered into the neighbor’s apartment, which has an identical layout to her own.

The neighbor was away, and his daughter found Case’s body Friday just before 6 p.m., police said. Police do not know how long Case was in the apartment, but an autopsy Saturday showed that she died of a heart attack about 10 days ago.

“That’s a pretty strange incident,” Sgt. Bob Moran said. “But we don’t have anything else about it right now.”

Case was last seen by relatives about 8 p.m. Sept. 23. Family members said earlier this week that Case had recently been forgetting her name and address. They had also worried about her disappearance because she had a mechanical heart valve that required her to take medication.