Couple, 97 and 89, are found dead in their Gentilly home - 
Submitted:		N.O.V.A. Decemeber  2005
Source:			Times Picayune 12-06-2005

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The bodies of a 97-year-old man and his 89-year-old wife were found inside
their Gentilly home by a former caretaker who fled the city a day before
Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.

Police said the caretaker, who had cared for the elderly couple before the
hurricane, returned to the couple's home in the 4300 block of Annette Street
for the first time since late August.

The caretaker entered the home and found the pair dead and called police.
Police would not speculate on how long the couple had been dead or the
condition of their bodies, but were sure foul play was not a factor in their
deaths.

Police said the area was affected by flooding, and said it is likely the
couple may have tried to "stick it out" inside their home, but succumbed to
harsh conditions or health problems.

Officer Garry Flot, New Orleans police spokesman, said their identities and
causes of death will be determined by the coroner's office, which will
perform autopsies and try to contact the family.

Police continue to field calls from people returning home or to the homes of
family members who discover the bodies of loved ones, forgotten or missed by
search and rescue or recovery teams.

On Sunday, the body of an 83-year-old man was found by relatives inside his
Port Street home in the 9th Ward. The man had not been seen since Aug. 28, a
day before Katrina struck, according to police.

The house had been flooded, officer Juan Barnes had said, and it appeared
the man might have drowned. Family found his decomposing body in the front
of the house.

In that case, Barnes said he was not sure if the house had been searched by
authorities before relatives went to the home Sunday. Police said while the
New Orleans Police Department assisted in the search for the dead or for
those who survived the storm, it was not their primary duty. The
responsibility for kicking down doors and smashing through windows looking
for signs of life or death was with military forces, such as the National
Guard and a federal contractor.