The family of an elderly man who went missing from a Tampa assisted-living facility over the weekend confirm a body found Tuesday evening is that of their "beloved" Maynell Scott.

  • Maynell Scott's body found in pond Tuesday night
  • He left an assisted-living facility Friday night, prompting search

Mr. Scott, 81, left Belvedere Commons of Tampa off Fletcher Avenue at about 7 p.m. Saturday. He suffered from dementia.

“We called to tell them we were on the way to visit him, that we were on the way,” said Mr. Scott’s daughter, Yvonne Willis. “They started crying and said, 'I'm sorry, we can't find him right now.'"

In a statement the family wrote;

Our family has just received word that the body found yesterday evening is in fact our beloved Maynell Scott. Our family is heartbroken over this confirmation. We appreciate your continued prayers, support, and privacy as we mourn the loss of our loved one.  Again, we would like to send our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in the search - Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, our family, friends, and the community who joined in our desperate efforts.

Mr. Scott’s body was found Tuesday night in a pond off Armenia near Fletcher, two miles away from where he went missing.

Theresa Deibert, Regional Director of Belvedere Commons, released the following statement Wednesday;

Everyone at Belvedere Commons of Tampa is deeply saddened and is mourning the loss of Mr. Maynell Scott. We want to express heartfelt sympathy to his entire family.

Mr. Scott left Belvedere Commons of Tampa on Saturday, July 16th at approximately 7 p.m. EST. All exit doors in our community are alarmed; however, due to enforced fire code, all exits doors have a delayed egress function and are not locked from the inside. Onsite staff responded quickly to the alarm but did not see any person in the immediate vicinity.  Our staff followed our Missing Resident Procedures.

Police were notified immediately and arrived to the community shortly after the emergency call was placed. Police began their extensive search after arriving at our community.  

Again, we express our condolences to Mr. Scott’s family and ask that everyone be respectful of their privacy as they mourn the loss of their loved one and of our community for the loss of our Resident. 

Belevedere Commons, like all assisted living facilities in Florida is governed by the Agency for Health Care Administration in Tallahassee. They oversee the licensing, inspections and any complaints on these facilities. From 2009 to January of this year, Belvedere has been cited for keeping incomplete records, deficiencies in resident care and not documenting investigations of staff accused of abuse or neglect.