Man who left center found dead outside

GARNER -- A man who wandered away from an assisted living center in Garner on Sunday was found dead Monday morning in a small pasture.

It's not clear how Dallas Sherwood "Sweet" Stevens, 62, died, police say.

Stevens was last seen at the Aversboro Assisted Living Center at 1437 Aversboro Road. He was found about 10:30 a.m. Monday less than a mile away, just south of the intersection of N.C. 50 and Timber Drive.

Garner police had issued a Silver Alert for Stevens on Monday morning, indicating that he had a cognitive impairment and required medication.

A state Highway Patrol helicopter spotted Stevens' body in the pasture, Garner police Lt. Wayne Moore said. About 50 police and rescue personnel were involved in the search.

Moore said that Stevens apparently walked out of the assisted living center on his own.

Aversboro Assisted Living Center is a 126-bed facility that provides residential care to older people and patients with physical and mental disabilities. Residents there are free to leave whenever they want, and some often walk to local stores, said Deborah Meyer, an attorney for the facility.

"This is not a locked-down facility," Meyer said. "This is their home. They are free to come and go."

According to county records, Aversboro does not have a secure care unit, a license designation that allows some facilities to charge more to keep residents safe if they are at risk of wandering off.

Meyer declined to talk specifically about Stevens and whether he commonly left the center.

"Everyone that knew [Stevens] here feels this is a real tragedy," she said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family."

The facility received 14 substantiated complaints between April 2008 and December 2009, according to Wake County records. According to a 2008 complaint, a resident who was known to wander off left the facility but was returned quickly. A substantiated complaint from December 2009 found that two-thirds of residents were not receiving adequate supervision during the night.

Other complaints include failure to treat patients with dignity and respect and failure to provide adequate care.

The center is not currently facing any penalties. In a June 2010 state inspection rating, the Aversboro Assisted Living Center received three out of four stars. It got two demerit points for not complying with rules related to patients' medication.

Staff writer Thomas Goldsmith contributed to this report.