Beaufort Police located the patient after responding to a search near the hospital Tuesday night
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A patient who reportedly left Beaufort Memorial Hospital last week was located after the Beaufort Police Department responded to assist in the search.
Beaufort Police responded Tuesday night, Aug. 4, to search for the patient near Beaufort Memorial Hospital, according to a Nixle alert issued by the department.
The patient was described as a mental health patient and was believed to possibly be nude at the time of the search.
Police later announced that the patient had been located.
Few details about the circumstances surrounding the incident have been publicly released, including how the patient was able to leave the hospital, whether the patient was under an involuntary commitment or otherwise prohibited from leaving, how long the patient was away from the hospital or where the patient was ultimately located.
Additional details about the incident, including whether any charges were filed, have not been released.
The Island News will update this story as additional information becomes available.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.