Swansea assisted living employee charged with neglect after resident found in ravine
A Belleville woman has been charged in connection with an assisted living facility resident found “barely conscious” this week in a deep ravine, according to authorities.
The St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s office charged Bridgett D. Williams, 60, with criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident, a Class 4 felony.
Williams is a certified nursing assistant at Cambridge House of Swansea, an assisted living facility, according to the Swansea Police Department. Williams is accused of lying to police and leading them in the wrong direction in their search for Willie Tanner, a 69-year-old man who was receiving care at Cambridge House.
Tanner was reported missing from the facility around 9:30 a.m. Monday, according to a statement Swansea Police Chief Steve Johnson issued this week. Johnson said in the statement that a CNA told officers she took Tanner’s vitals Monday morning and when she returned with his food, he was gone.
The police department issued an alert to the public Monday afternoon asking for help to locate Tanner. The alert stated that Tanner was last seen at 7 a.m. Monday at Cambridge House.
But Fairview Heights Alderman Ryan Vickers told police he saw Tanner on Sunday walking on Union Hill Road in Fairview Heights. In an interview Thursday, Johnson said police confirmed Vickers’ tip through security footage at businesses in the area and “very quickly found” Tanner after that.
Johnson said Tanner was in a ravine in a subdivision just north of U.S. 50 in Fairview Heights. Authorities believe Tanner was in the ravine for nearly two days, from Sunday night until Tuesday afternoon.
“For a person of his age, medical and physical condition, it was quite the walk, and we don’t know if he got a ride or not,” Johnson said.
Tanner was still recovering at a local hospital on Thursday, according to Johnson.
No attorney was listed for Williams in St. Clair County’s online court records on Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
