A month after a Grand Bay-Westfield, N.B., woman disappeared without a trace, her son says the family is clinging to routine and to each other.
Ruth Carol Sutton, 79, was last seen on Mallard Drive the morning of May 25.
As the search enters a second month, Sutton’s family is doing their best to cope with the uncertainty.
“We’ve had a little time to get used to the idea rather than in the case of a sudden death. Dad’s doing quite well,” said her son, Bertis Sutton.
“He’s engaged in things that interest him and trying to keep his mind on happier things.”
Bertis says his mother, who goes by the name Carol, grew up by the water in Hampstead. She is an avid swimmer and has lived with her husband in their home for more than 50 years.
Carol lives with early-stage Alzheimer’s but her son says she had never shown signs of wandering or disorientation before.
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“It didn’t affect her personality, it didn’t affect her vocabulary, her long-term memory. She was never disoriented or didn’t know where she was,” he said.
“The best we can guess is that something changed in her physiology and her brain that morning and this was her first and last wander.”
Carol is described as being five-feet-two-inches tall, about 130 pounds, with white hair and blue eyes. She was last seen in a light-blue jacket and rubber ankle boots.
RCMP says investigations like this remain open indefinitely, until the missing person is found.
“Last week we were undertaking a search with underwater recovery team in the area in proximity where Ms. Carol Sutton went missing and also our drone system was up and running last week as well, searching for some ground near the river,” said RCMP Sgt. Ben Comley.
Bertis hopes someone — even unknowingly — may have seen something and is urging them to contact police.
“She could definitely come off to you as just a person looking for a ride and somebody with good intentions may have just taken her somewhere and no even realized the significance of it,” he said.
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