One local case came to light in 2005, and it was a stomach turning investigation.

A 75-year old Kirkland woman died after living in filthy conditions. Her daughter was convicted of neglect.

The lead cop on the case wondered how many more cases are missed.

Sean Riley was with the Kirkland Police Department. At the time he said, "That's what I'm scared of. After seeing this and some of the other cases that I've investigated on elder abuse, we're just scratching the surface. How many aren't getting reported? How many aren't told to us?"

That's the question in front of 300 professionals from across the state.

They're in Bellevue this week focused on spotting and stopping elder abuse.

One speaker - a coroner from Arkansas - where law says he investigates every death in a nursing home.

"We've reached a point where pressure sores are non existent. Medication errors don't occur anymore," said Mark Malcom. "And it's really become one of the safest places, if not the safest place in America to put somebody in a nursing home."

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, for every case of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation reported, five more never come to light.

Oftentimes, victims are too embarrassed.

"They've done an amazing job living independently their entire life. And the last thing they want to admit is, I fell for this," said King County Elder Abuse Prosecutor Tim Leary. "When it's a coincidence. They were targeted because of their age. They didn't fall for it because of their age."

Experts agree they are getting better at prosecuting elder abuse cases, but add that compared to investigating child abuse and domestic violence, elder abuse investigation techniques are 30 years behind the times.

For More Information:

http://www.metrokc.gov/proatty/elder/06conference.htm

http://www.elderabusecenter.org/