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Mesa care facility hires former AZ attorney general to investigate 90-year-old's death

Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods will lead an independent review into a 90-year-old man who was left outside a care facility in a van.

MESA, Ariz. — Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.

Former Arizona Attorney General, Grant Woods, will be leading an independent review into a Mesa assisted living facility after a 90-year-old man died while under the staff's watch.

Canyon Winds Assisted Living and Memory Care hired Woods to investigate the facility's operations. 

On July 22, Lawrence Bearse died after police said he was left in a van outside of Canyon Winds near McDowell Road and Ridgecrest. Officers found the elderly man dead inside a transport van outside the building. The worker told police that a resident was left inside for reasons that are under investigation.

RELATED: ADHS opens investigation into Mesa care facility after 90-year-old man was found dead in transport van

Woods, who as Attorney General personally led investigations into a number of high-profile cases involving elder care, will have access to all aspects of Canyon Winds’ operations, protocols and business practices, the facility said. 

Woods said the goal of the review is to understand exactly what happened with the incident. 

“To a man and to a woman, everyone we spoke to voiced their full commitment to the review process and to making sure this awful one-time incident will never again be repeated,” Woods said in a news release.

The Arizona Department of Health Services has also launched an investigation into Canyon Winds. 

According to ADHS data, the state last inspected the Mesa facility in May and cited Canyon Winds twice. One citation was for failing to administer some residents the proper medication. A second citation was issued for failing to ensure fire extinguishers were up to date.

RELATED: 90-year-old man dies after being left in van outside Mesa assisted living facility

Lawrence Bearse's family told 12 News that he was placed in the facility in June of 2020 due to his advanced Alzheimer's. He was a proud Marine who served in the Korean War.

Kylie Bearse, Lawrence Bearse's granddaughter, said he was taken by Canyon Winds staff to a doctor's appointment around 3 p.m. Wednesday. When his wife of 67 years came to visit him around 11 a.m. Thursday, staff did not know where he was.

He was located deceased in the van after a search.

“It’s a lot of anger. The sadness will come but right now. It’s just, how could this happen?” Kylie said.

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