Woman’s family want her home
The family of a 21-year-old patient of Palmerston North Hospital’s mental health ward are ‘‘very worried’’ by her unexplained disappearance.
Chelsea Brunton was last seen on Saturday on Ruahine St. She was a patient on the hospital’s ward 21 at the time of her disappearance.
Her uncle Phil Fisher said the family did not know where she was and were very worried. He said Brunton was admitted to hospital on Monday May 1. On Saturday, his niece had stepped outside the hospital for a cigarette and had not be seen since.
Fisher was worried she could have covered a great distance in days since.
Chelsea’s mother Lynnette Brunton last saw her daughter about 11am on Saturday.
She went home to collect some of her daughter’s clothes, but when she returned, Chelsea was gone, Fisher said.
Lynnette Brunton said it was ‘‘extremely out-of-character’’ for Chelsea to go missing, especially as she had a 31⁄2-year-old daughter. ‘‘She’s left with cigarettes, no phone, no money, no car. We are just desperate to hear from her. Her daughter needs her.’’
She said Chelsea had suffered from suicidal thoughts in the past and Lynette Brunton was worried she was no longer taking her medication. She described her daughter as shy.
A Midcentral spokesman said Chelsea Brunton’s right to privacy about her health prevented the hospital from providing any information about the care she was receiving. He said she had left the hospital on Saturday of her own accord.
There are both open and secure sections on Ward 21. In general, when patients had voluntary status, they were cared for in the open part of the unit, he said. Patients under voluntary status regularly have leave to go to the local store or for a cigarette, he said.
Brunton has family in Wellington and the East Coast and could be heading to those areas.