Nursing Home Offers Reward For Walkaway

Officials of a Spokane Valley nursing home are offering a $500 reward for information leading to the safe return of one of its residents.

Fred Payne has been missing from Valleycrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center since he walked away after dinner Saturday evening.

Payne was reportedly seen at Matthews Restaurant, 2104 N. Pines, on Sunday, but has not been seen since.

Nursing home officials believe the 67-year-old man has been without his prescription medication since Saturday, said spokesman Mike Mervis.

“He did not have any medication with him when he left, nor would he have any access to any,” Mervis said.

The nursing home has called hospitals, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department and adjoining communities in search of Payne, Mervis said.

“Quite frankly, we’re at a loss about what to do next,” Mervis said.

During a Saturday afternoon lunch conversation with other residents, Payne talked about collecting a $15 debt from a friend, Mervis said. He said nursing home officials did not know who Payne was referring to or if he had collected the debt.

Payne, who has lived at Valleycrest for about a year, has grey-blond hair and a mustache. He is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. Mervis said Payne may be confused and hard to understand.

Anyone with information about Payne’s whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 456-2233 or Valleycrest at 924-3040.

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