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ALF resident found in lake

A taxi was to take Cary Gammon, 56 and suffering from schizophrenia, to Bay Pines VA Medical Center. But Gammon missed his cab and mysteriously slipped away.

By ALEX LEARY
Published December 26, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Patrick Manor assisted living facility brimmed with anticipation of the annual Christmas party. Prime rib and shrimp were on the menu, music on the radio, gifts under the tree.

"Everyone was very excited," said Patrick McNamara, who runs the facility at 896 73rd Ave N.

Everyone but resident Cary Gammon. "He just wasn't being himself," McNamara said.

Just before 4 p.m. Saturday, McNamara called for a taxi to take Gammon, a 56-year-old Vietnam veteran suffering from schizophrenia, to Bay Pines VA Medical Center.

But Gammon missed his cab and mysteriously slipped away. A search that evening came up empty. On Christmas morning, a passerby spotted his body floating in a lake at 6600 13th St. N, less than a mile from the home.

"It's really baffling," McNamara said Monday. "He never wandered off before."

Police say Gammon may have drowned, though the medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death.

McNamara said Gammon was free to come and go but never strayed alone in the year and a half he lived at Patrick Manor, which houses about 40 people, many of them VA patients. "He was very quiet," McNamara said.

And, apparently, lonely.

Gammon had no known family and did not socialize much, said his legal guardian Suzanne Kubiak.

"I tried to encourage him to go out and have lunch with the other fellows, but he didn't have much interest in that," said Kubiak.

She said Gammon was born in Virginia, served in the Army during Vietnam and had been in Florida for a quarter-century. His medical condition hurt his ability to deal with everyday issues, such as caring for himself and handling financial issues, she said.

A few clues could lend understanding to what happened. McNamara said doctors had recently changed Gammon's medication and that he was not acting right.

Records show that last year Gammon purchased a house in St. Petersburg, paying $143,500. When Patrick Manor employees learned the details, they contacted Kubiak. Kubiak said she and Gammon went to the State Attorney's Office about a month ago to discuss the purchase.

Kubiak was reluctant to share details Monday without talking first with prosecutors, but said it involved how Gammon, who received income through disability and social security, came to buy the house. It was mostly paid for through a mortgage.

Neither state attorney's officials nor police could be reached for comment Monday.

McNamara said the issue had to do with a person who previously advised Gammon, though he too declined to discuss the matter. "It's a bad situation," he said.

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Alex Leary can be reached at 893-8472 or leary@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 26, 2005, 18:00:06]