Patient Walks Into Canal, Drowns

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. — A patient who walked out of Mease-Countryside Hospital on Sept. 16 was found dead in the Lake Tarpon Outfall Canal five hours after leaving the hospital.

Terry Len Burch had left the hospital wearing a hospital gown and red socks, the Palm Harbor Patch reports. A hospital security officer followed Burch and saw him heading to the canal; hospital staff alerted the police.

Witnesses reported that Burch waded into the water and then disappeared from sight. Burch’s body was discovered by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team.

Read the full story.

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