Body found on MoPac identified as missing 76-year-old veteran Paull Patterson

Medical examiner confirms body found in North Austin is Paull Patterson

The search for the 76-year-old man, who went missing from a memory care facility in Northwest Austin, has been called off.

AUSTIN, Texas - Thursday the Travis County Medical Examiner identified a body found along MoPac Wednesday as Paull Patterson.

"There’s some closure, even though it’s not what I wanted," said Paull Patterson’s daughter, Laurel Patterson.

The 76-year-old living with dementia left Colonial Gardens, a North Austin memory care facility, 10 days earlier.

Amber Russell, an attorney representing Paull Patterson’s family, said he followed a staff member out the door.

"And then Mr. Patterson was not reported missing to APD for seven hours. That means for seven hours this man was allowed to walk. In what direction, no one knew."

In an attempt to pinpoint the direction Paull Patterson walked, his family and Russell requested video from the facility. But, Russell said they were told the facility’s external cameras do not work, "and have not worked for quite some time."

Police believe body found in North Austin is 75-year-old missing veteran

Austin police believe a body found in North Austin is missing veteran Paull Patterson. They are still waiting on a positive ID.

Thursday Russell told reporters they could not "file suit [Thursday] even if we want to. There’s a lot of legal hurdles that we have to jump through first, but we intend to fully pursue this to the full extent."

"We want the facility to be held responsible for what happened, and we want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anybody else," she added.

The Austin Police Department and Texas Health and Human Services are investigating.

Paull Patterson served in the Coast Guard and worked as an engineer in New Mexico. He enjoyed traveling and attending concerts with his daughter.

"He will be missed more than I can say," said his sister Rebecca Clinger.