Reporting from San Diego — The family of Pearl Harbor survivor Arnold Bauer said in a statement Monday that they "thought he was in good hands" and trusted his caregiver.
Bauer's caregiver is charged with felony counts of elder abuse, forgery, theft and false imprisonment. Bauer, 93, who has dementia and prostate cancer, is in the Veterans Affairs hospital in La Jolla.
"We are deeply shocked and concerned about the care our father has been receiving," Bauer's daughter said in remarks released on behalf of the family. "We thought he was in good hands and receiving good care."
The daughter wrote: "I was in touch with the caregiver usually about once a month, and everything seemed fine with my father. In fact, she said his mental state was improving. The caregiver discussed with me that she was preparing nutritious meals to make sure he stayed healthy."
Bauer's daughter thanked the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the county's Adult Protective Services, and the VA. The family, she wrote, is working with a VA social worker to "make sure he gets good care after discharge from the medical center."
When sheriff's deputies went to Bauer's home outside El Cajon last week, they found him disheveled, dehydrated and disoriented. Rotting garbage and rat feces were found throughout the house.
Bauer, a retired Navy chief machinist's mate, was sitting in a chair, clutching a picture of the ship he was serving on during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack.
Milagros Angeles, 63, who had been Bauer's caregiver for three years, is due in court next week. She remains in jail on $1 million bail.
Bauer's children, who live in San Pedro and Santa Barbara, have declined to be interviewed.
