Woman, 87, Dies After 1,625 Ant Bites

An 87-year-old nursing home patient with Alzheimer’s disease died a day after she was bitten 1,625 times by ants as she lay in her bed, authorities said Thursday.

The Sarasota County medical examiner’s office is investigating the case of Mary L. Morales Gay, who died May 19 at the Quality Health Care Center in North Port.

The official cause of death is awaiting toxicology tests, but Gay was bitten by either fire ants or red ants on her chest, upper arm, abdomen and back, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Wilson Broussard said Thursday.

Loraine Baeringer, administrative assistant at the home, had no comment. Pat Glynn of the state Agency for Health Care Administration said the home has had satisfactory ratings.

North Port Police Det. Stephen Lorenz said Gay was checked at 6:30 a.m. May 18 and was fine. At 8 a.m. a housekeeper came into her room, noticed the ants and called for help. It appeared the ants had built colonies in a courtyard at the nursing home and burrowed through a wall to Gay’s room, he said.

Lorenz said even though he is only halfway through his investigation, it does not appear a crime was committed. “The staff in our opinion at this point in our investigation did everything to the best of their capabilities,” he said.