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Associated Press - July 30, 2010 1:34 PM ET
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A seven month battle between the state and a 79-year-old Des Moines man over his health care, housing and general well-being is over.
A Department of Human Services worker removed Bob Queener from his home Dec. 8 without notifying relatives, who panicked when they discovered him missing.
He was kept for months in locked psychiatric and nursing home units. A court-appointed conservator began disposing of his possessions without his knowledge, and put his house up for sale.
On Thursday, a Polk County judge awarded guardianship of Queener, who has dementia, to his niece and a state senator who had stepped in on their behalf.
DHS staff testified that several medical staffers told the niece last fall Queener needed 24-hour care, but that she ignored their advice.
Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
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