Two people in Susquehanna County are charged with the death of an elderly woman.

Police said the woman died after wandering away from a personal care home.

Louise Lamb, 89, of New Milford suffered from dementia. She was a resident at Gracious Living Personal Care and Retirement Living near Montrose.

Now the adminstrator and a staff member are charged with her death.

Richard Serfass is in charge at the facility. Linda Hibbard was the staff member on duty the night Lamb disappeared.

They were charged Thursday with one count each of involuntary manslaughter and neglect.

"I can see how it'd be disheartening for a family when it is such a hard decision to make to put a parent in a facility," said Trooper Bill Satkowski.

Police said Lamb was last seen in her room around 9 p.m. Tuesday night. Police said at 1:30 a.m. Hibbard noticed the woman was not in her bed but didn't tell anyone until 7 a.m., nearly six hours later.

A search of the property found Lamb unresponsive, lying in the snow about 100-yards from the facility. She was barefoot and wearing only a nightgown. She died, doctors said, of hypothermia.

According to court papers, Lamb may have gotten out of the home through an unsecured door with an alarm that didn't work. For that reason, state police think Serfass, the home's administrator, is just as responsible as Hibbard.

"We felt like she did leave the facility through an unsecured door with an inoperable alarm on it. He knew that and did nothing about it," Satkowski added.

The state department of public welfare confirms Gracious Living is a licensed facility with no prior complaints. It is still open and an investigation is now underway.

Hibbard and Serfass are free on bail.

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