NewsWest 9
ODESSA - Odessa Police are still investigating the death of an 87-year-old man. Isaiah Tunson was reported missing over the weekend and was later found dead.
On Monday, NewsWest 9 spoke with Tunson's family about his unexpected death.
"He was an awesome person. He was a man of God first and foremost and a wonderful father," Nancy Brown, the daughter of Isaiah Tunson, said.
Nancy said it's been almost two years since Isaiah was diagnosed with Alzheimer's but it wasn't until recently that he started wondering off.
"Dad had started wondering but he would never leave the yard," Brown said.
Isaiah was staying with family in a house off of Pecos Street in Odessa when he got up and left the house sometime after 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
"We looked in the closets, we looked everywhere and I just thought, 'well surely, he didn't step outside, it's cold out there!'" Brown said.
The family couldn't find Isaiah anywhere and that's when they called police.
"I said my dad is missing! He said your dad is missing? I said yes, would you send an officer to South Pecos Street because my dad is not here, he has Alzheimer's and he's gone," Brown said.
Later that afternoon, just a few blocks away, an elderly woman called police after she saw a man lying on the ground in her yard.
Isaiah was found in a backyard in the 1200 block of Honeysuckle on Saturday. Although the official cause of death is still unknown, police said he could have possibly died due to the severe winter weather conditions.
"I wouldn't leave the house because I just knew he was going to come back walking up from somewhere and come in but he never did," Brown said.
Now, Brown is picking up the pieces and wondering what to do next after Isaiah's tragic death.
