Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Linda Shaw was supposed to be overseeing 16 residents at Personal Care II assisted living facility in Bradenton, Fla., last summer. But just minutes after she reported for her 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, she walked out the door and never returned, leaving the residents without a caregiver, according to the Bradenton Herald.

While she was away, a 47-year-old disabled woman had a heat stroke and seizures. She was found around 5 a.m. by another resident who called 911. The woman who had fallen ill was rushed to the hospital, according to the story.

An investigation found that the air conditioning had been out for days at the facility and the temperature in the room in which the woman was found was extremely high, according to an affidavit.

A housekeeper at the home told investigators that Shaw said she was headed to the beach. Another report said she was heading home to get medication. Regardless, she never returned. One resident said that Shaw had played the disappearing act before in her 10-year career at Personal Care II.

An investigation into Shaw’s past revealed she had a history of mental health problems, including bipolar disorder. She, too, had been a resident in an assisted living facility for a decade. She also has previous convictions, one in 1991 for retail theft and 1994 for assault and battery.

Shaw was arrested and faces up to five years in prison for a charge of neglect of a disabled adult, a third-degree felony.

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