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Samantha Primus, who is both deaf and autistic, has been found by her family in Queens, NY. The 47-year-old woman disappeared on December 23.
An onlooker contacted one of Samantha’s sisters, stating she found Samantha. The family had been canvassing areas around Queens for weeks looking for Samantha.
A neighbor and family friend spotted her near the number 1 train in South Ferry Station. Vivianna Stanley noted, “She looked lost, and she looked frail.”
Samantha went missing on December 23 after leaving her family’s home in Queens. The family searched high and low for the woman who is both deaf and autistic.
Samantha’s sister, Sophia Primus, stated the family searched diligently. They searched “The wee hours of the morning, late at night, in the cold,” she said.
After leaving her family’s home, a paramedic found Samantha, and took her to a local Queens hospital. However, despite being deaf and autistic, the hospital discharged her the next day.
The family believes the hospital should not have let her leave. “She had all the red flags that called for attention. Mute, unable to express herself, sick, no ID,” Sophia Primus said.
Missing nonverbal, autistic woman found
The family thinks she rode trains for 3 weeks before her rescue. Her community in Queens came together in the search, and Samantha’s family is grateful.
Despite being cold, wet, and disheveled, Samantha’s sister recognized her right away. “I pulled my hat off and she saw my face, and she was just, it was just happiness,” Samantha’s sister Ghislaine Primus said.
Samantha had lost weight during the ordeal. She went to another hospital to ensure her health.
A family member noted she was still wearing a knitted hat she had worn when she disappeared from her family’s home in Queens. Other than that, “She had no jacket. She was wearing bedroom slippers,” her sister Genevieve Primus said.
However, upon her reunion with her family, Samantha, who can make noises, was screaming with joy, her sister noted. “She was so happy,” Primus said of her sister’s reaction to seeing a family member.
The family is currently pursuing legal action against the Queens hospital that initially released her to the streets. The hospital gave her a list of homeless shelters.