Caretakers abandon elderly man during Hurricane Irma

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Traci Waggoner (right). Ferrin Webb (left)

ROTUNDA WEST, Fla. A 91-year-old man left for dead during Hurricane Irma after his two caretakers evacuated to Indiana, leaving him with no food or water.

Charlotte County investigators say Traci Waggoner, 54, and Ferrin Webb, 31, evacuated for the hurricane and left Sam Kaplan lying naked on the floor for days.

Kaplan’s neighbor Sharon Adkins said something felt wrong when she hasn’t noticed his caretakers stop by after Hurricane Irma.

Adkins decided to call the women to find out where they are, and that’s when they told her they were in Indiana.

“And I said, ‘Is Sam with you?’ And she said, ‘No, he wouldn’t go, that old bastard!’ And left him home,” Adkins said. “So, that’s when I went over.”

Adkins said she had to pry open the garage door to gain access to his house. That’s when she found him laying helplessly on the floor.

“He was completely naked, laying there on the floor,” Adkins said. “He had, had mishaps all over the floor, laying in that. It was bad. It was just bad.”

Kaplan had pressure ulcers, indicating he was laying on the floor for days, the reports said. He was also dehydrated and had a hard time speaking.

“And he was so weak,” Adkins said. “I kept telling him to hang on, we were going to get help. And he couldn’t even answer me.”

Neighbors say the paid caretakers would stop once a day to drop off food and then leave immediately.

Waggoner and Webb both face charges of neglecting the elderly.

“I don’t think they should ever be allowed around an elderly person again,” Adkins said.

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