News 12 at 6 o'clock, July 8, 2009

AUGUSTA, Ga.---We're learning more about an Augusta personal care home, the home an elderly woman with Alzheimer's walked away from last week.

85-year old Elizabeth Bert was missing for three and half days before her body was found in the woods.

The state is now stepping in and investigating what happened that morning, but today we learned they aren't the only ones investigating the House of Life.

It was a four day search for missing 85-year old Liz Bert. Since her body was found, it's been days of searching for answers in the form of an investigation.

The Georgia Department of Community Health says, "The Healthcare Facility Regulation Division is currently assessing the facility's compliance with state measures to ensure the ongoing safety of its residents."

"What we can take out of is especially the situation that happened we need to pay better attention to the people who suffer from this disease, especially if they're in a home or something like that," says Carl Gant, Liz Bert's nephew.

News 12 learned a complaint was filed this week with the county Department of Public Health stating there was raw sewage and an improperly maintained pool at the House of Life.

Michael Allison, the county Environmental Health Manager says they have scheduled an inspection and are looking into the claims.

"We're certainly gonna take a look into it and make sure that if there is a problem out there that we get it corrected," says Michael Allison, the Richmond County Environmental Health County Manager.

If they do find there's a problem, Allison says it's up to the property owner to take care of it.

"If it ends up being a surface discharge that means they have raw sewage on the ground it certainly is potential public health problem," says Allison.

News 12 also obtained three complaints that have been filed against the House of Life since it opened in March of 2007. Two of the three of those complaints were for abuse. The complaints were filed in March and April of 2008.

One alleged that her mother had been abused there and in the other a patient alleged the owner, Jennie Dukes, abused her and other residents there.

However, the state investigated both complaints and found no evidence of any abuse.

News 12 left several messages for Jennie Dukes, the owner of the House of Life, but our calls were not returned.

You may remember we first brought you a story about Dukes this May, when News 12 uncovered she was running a hospice home on Ware Road without a license.

The state is still investigating and working with investigators in the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.

As for the Department of Public Health, they tell me they will go inspect the property by the end of this week.