George Anthony Hospitalized After Suicide Threat

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George Anthony Hospitalized After Suicide Threat

Friday, January 23, 2009 – updated: 3:31 pm EST January 23,
2009ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- The
case against Casey sent her 57-year-old father, George Anthony, to his
breaking point. He was found alone and suicidal at a Volusia County
motel early Friday morning after he was reported missing.911 CALL: George Reported Missing | Transcript
DOCUMENTS: Sheriff's Incident Report | Dispatch Log
TEAM COVERAGE: Suicidal George Hospitalized
AT THE ANTHONY HOME: See Images
GEORGE FOUND: Raw Video | See Images
JOSE BAEZ SPEAKS: Comments Outside Jail
ATTORNEY GABRIEL ADAMS: Refuses To Comment
CHIEF CHITWOOD: Describes Finding George
WATCH: Interview With Anthony AttorneySix
months after missing persons investigators were called to the Anthony
home to help find Caylee, they were called there again to find George (images at Anthony home).
The call was made just before 11:00pm Thursday after George sent text
messages to the family saying he wanted to be with his granddaughter,
Caylee, and to make sure she was in God's arms.George was coaxed into a Daytona Beach police car early Friday morning (raw video | images)
and taken to Halifax Medical Center for psychological evaluation.
Police described him as melancholy and despondent, but also
cooperative. They found his car parked in the parking lot of the Hawaii
Motel on Ridgewood Avenue (see map) and found him in his room."The
Orange County Sheriff's Office came out immediately. They located
George Anthony in Volusia County using GPS and his telephone. George is
okay, thank God," Anthony family attorney Brad Conway told Eyewitness
News (watch interview with Conway).Conway
said George left his home at 8:00am Thursday and never came back. He
missed a 4:00pm meeting at the house, but his text messages around
10:45pm Thursday really worried his family.George messaged that
he wanted to be with Caylee to make sure she was in God's arms.
Investigators said they also found a half-written suicide note in
George's car, which was driven back to the house Friday morning.Conway said Cindy is very relieved that George is okay."She's good. George is safe and he's with us, so it's all good," Conway said.Cindy
has not left the house since the sheriff's office arrived late Thursday
night. George's breakdown comes just days after new documents revealed
grim details surrounding Caylee Anthony's death.The Anthonys
have been part of a drawn-out saga involving their daughter, Casey, who
is charged with the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. Caylee
was first reported missing over the summer. Her decomposing remains
were found just a few blocks from the family home in December.
GEORGE AT HALIFAX MEDICAL CENTERDoctors
at the Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach were evaluating George's
condition Friday. He was taken there after he was found at the motel.MESSAGE BOARD: Justice For CayleeGeorge was taken to Halifax around 2:30am. Daytona Beach officers Baker-acted (Baker Act details) him after he said he wanted to end his life. He was first admitted to the emergency department and was there for several hours."As
far as I know, he cooperated with the doctors and, like I said, he's
stable as far as I know. They have the situation under control," said
Salina Wang, Halifax Medical Center.It was Daytona Beach Police
Chief Michael Chitwood who drove George to the hospital after admitting
he wanted to take his own life (watch interview with Chitwood)."He had text-messaged family members that he wanted to end his life," Chitwood said.It
was only an eight-minute drive from the Hawaii Motel, where he was
found, to the hospital. Police Baker-acted George, however the medical
center officials will not discuss details of his condition because of
privacy laws."Right now, we aren't commenting on any mental
health issues he may or may not have. What we can talk about is he is
undergoing some medical examination," Wang said.A Daytona Beach
police officer was assigned to the hospital for security reasons. Early
Friday morning, hospital security officers had stood guard at the
entrance to the emergency department.George could be in the hospital for up to 72 hours."He'll undergo some medical observation and that will help determine how long he'll be here with us," Wang said.There
is a police officer assigned to George's door. He's allowed to have
family visitors, but there had been none as of noon Friday.Casey's
parents, George and Cindy, spent months insisting their granddaughter
was alive and their daughter would be proven innocent. They have
steadfastly supported Casey, despite mounting evidence gathered by
investigators in the case.At times, the stress of the case
seemed to weigh heavily on George. On several occasions, he angrily
confronted protestors, who gathered outside the family home in east
Orange County as they protested against his daughter, and at the media.WATCH VIDEO: George Confronts Media | George Lashes Out | George Tosses Lawn Furniture | George Shoves ProtestorsAfter
most incidents, George apologized, saying the pressure of having his
granddaughter missing and his family under such intense scrutiny had
gotten to him.