'She was my rock', says grieving West Bowling man

A Bradford grandmother who went missing during a family holiday to Florida was found dead following a huge police helicopter search, an inquest heard.

Grace Hendricks, who had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, walked more than eight miles and became confused before collapsing in a field, Bradford Coroner’s Court heard yesterday.

Helicopters were scrambled and spent two days scouring a huge area during the police search for Mrs Hendricks, of Martlett Drive, West Bowling.

But her body was eventually discovered by officers from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Ruskin, on the Gulf of Mexico coast.

Her heartbroken husband of 48 years yesterday told of his shock and sorrow at losing his “rock”.

Robert Hendricks, 77, said: “She was my wife, my sister, my mother and my best friend. She was everything to me.”

Retired seamstress Mrs Hendricks, who came to Bradford from Jamaica in 1958, had flown to Florida with her husband to visit his sister and niece.

After the long flight they had stayed up drinking tea and chatting with their relatives at their Florida home before going to bed, the inquest heard.

The couple’s niece woke in the middle of the night to find an alarm sounding and the door ajar but did not realise Mrs Hendricks was missing.

Mr Hendricks had previously woken in the middle of the night to hear his wife talking to herself but it was only when he got up and realised she wasn’t there that the search for the mother-of-four began.

Her body was discovered on March 13, 2009, in her night dress and slippers, two days after her disappearance had been reported to police.

She died of exposure and dehydration, British-based coroner Dr Patrick Waugh told the inquest.

The pathologist told the inquest he disagreed with the American autopsy results, which said she had died from a swelling of the heart causing hypertension. He said the autopsy had shown evidence of early dementia.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Roger Whittaker, said: “She was found in a field in hot weather, which would have made her condition worse. As she became dehydrated, she would have collapsed.

“Mrs Hendricks died from exposure and dehydration.”

Mr Hendricks told the coroner he had struggled to eat or sleep since his beloved wife died.

“Every time I sit in the house, I see her in front of me,” he said. “I miss her dearly.”

Following the inquest, her sister Hyacinth Dunn, 70, described Mrs Hendricks as a quiet church-going woman, who attended the Sunbridge Road Mission every week.

Her son, Neil Hendricks, 47, a father-of-two, of Lilycroft Road, Heaton, Bradford, said: “In my opinion she was the best mum you could have and she was a fantastic Nana to all her grandchildren.”