Caregiver charged, 80-year-old man found alone in camper: Georgia state trooper

The caregiver of an 80-year-old woman who was found alone in a dirty camper has been arrested, say Georgia deputies.

According to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, a woman’s screams for help coming from inside an “unsanitary” recreational vehicle on June 13 alerted nearby campers, who called deputies to Shoal Creek Campground in Buford.

Deputies arrived on scene as paramedics were tending to the victim, who they said was “bedridden and lying in urine.”

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Authorities contacted the woman’s caregiver, Gretchen P. Manley-Philyaw, 54, who admitted to leaving the 80-year-old woman in the camper overnight, deputies said. Authorities did not say whether they were related.

Manley-Philyaw said she planned to take the woman back to her home in Buford, and the two were allowed to leave the campsite, according to authorities.

Further investigation by Adult Protective Services revealed that it had instead taken the woman to another campsite in Forsyth County, according to a June 24 press release.

Hall County deputies forwarded her information to Forsyth County authorities, where she was arrested on June 18, deputies said. According to authorities, Manley-Philyaw was charged with neglect of an elderly person and abuse of an elderly person.

She was booked into jail and released on $20,000 bail, deputies said.

An 80-year-old woman was handed over to the care of a relative.

Buford is approximately 40 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.