By Spencer Hunt and Debra Jasper
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Roy Harrison was losing his memory and growing frail months before he wandered off from his Wilmington apartment and froze to death, nearly naked, in a cold, winter field.

Mr. Harrison, 78, who also had borderline diabetes and severe allergies, had been receiving 10 hours of at-home care each week, Clinton County records show.

Despite his infirmities, county officials say they couldn't afford to care for him around-the-clock, and Mr. Harrison didn't want to move into a group home or institution.

While officials discussed what to do, Mr. Harrison died of exposure on Dec. 7, 1999.

His niece, Joyce Perpington of Fairfield, says she was shocked to learn of his death.

"He had called me on Friday to wish me a Merry Christmas," she says.

She says Mr. Harrison had lived for decades in a state institution for the mentally retarded in Orient and was scared to go back to that kind of life.

"He really didn't know what to do," Ms. Perpington says. "Roy is one of those people who got lost in the system."

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