Elderly Newton Woman Found Safe; Suspect Arrested

NEWTON, MA - A man sought by police in connection with the disappearance of a patient from a Newton nursing home has been arrested.

David Collignon was taken into custody in Boston Thursday night after bringing 62-year-old Beth Birnbaum to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment. He is believed to have left the CareOne Health Facility with Birnbaum Tuesday afternoon.

Collignon, an acquaintance of Birnbaum's, reportedly visited her on Tuesday and was told she could not leave the facility. Employees noticed she was missing around 2 p.m. that afternoon when they found her wheelchair outside of the building, multiple news outlets reported.

Police said Birnbaum has serious medical needs and was not signed out of the facility.

According to court documents cited by the Boston Globe, Collignon, 55, and Birnbaum had previously dated, but had not seen each other in more than a decade until Birbaum suffered a stroke in January.

Collignon, a resident of Middleburg, Fla., relocated to Massachusetts to be with Birnbaum after her stroke.

Some employees at the CareOne facility told the Globe that Collignon and his brother, Ross, were "highly intrusive" in Birnbaum's care, and they believed Collignon's actions to be financially motivated.

Photo Credit: Newton Police