JEFFERSON TWP - The death of a man who walked away last week from the Meadow Manor personal care home was most likely an accident. However residents are not stopped from leaving the building.

"The people living here have the right to come and go as they please. We're not allowed to restrain them," said Ron Paul, administrator at Meadow Manor, adding that people pay rent for their room and board. The home is not a health care facility.

The living arrangements at the 600 Freeport Road facility are more like an apartment and not a nursing-staffed living facility, Paul said.

Jeffrey Labovitz, 51, was found dead outside the home at 11:30 a.m. July 15 in a culvert covered by weeds and bushes about 30 to 40 feet from the facility.

State police trooper Mark Bardzil said last week it didn't appear any foul play was involved, though police are still investigating. The Butler County Coronor's office has not yet released the autopsy results.

Bardzil had added that Labovitz's health problems might have been severe enough to have caused his death; or Labovitz health problems might have caused an accident that led to his death.

Labovitz, who had been a resident at the Meadow Manor Personal Care Home since 1997, suffered from diabetes and schizophrenia. He had been missing since 5 a.m. the previous day. There were no signs of trauma at the scene.

Kevin Cramsey, spokesman for the state Department of Public Welfare, said, "Right now, it doesn't appear there were any deficiencies in this case. The home contacted both the Department of Welfare and the police in a timely manner."

An inspector will visit the home to talk to residents and review the case in depth soon, Cramsey said. The last safety inspection of Meadow Manor by the Department of Public Welfare was in November and no major problems were found.

Meadow Manor opened in January 1996 and has 53 beds, according to the state Department of Public Welfare, which licenses personal care facilities.

The home has searched for missing residents on at least two other occasions that were reported in the Butler Eagle. A 70-year-old man walked away from the home in January 1996, and a 70-year-old man did the same thing in June 2001. In both cases, the missing men were found.