An 80-year-old West Australian man has been charged over taking a wheelchair-bound woman from a care facility before driving her through regional WA towards the Northern Territory border.
Police said the man visited the 84-year-old woman at the facility at Mandurah, south of Perth, on Sunday and when an opportunity arose took her to his car and drove away.
It is alleged that at the time the man did not have the legal authority to remove the woman from the home and she was incapable of making such a decision for herself.
It will be further alleged the man had planned to remove the woman from the care facility and leave Western Australia, having made some preliminary preparations before visiting her.
He is accused of putting the woman's health and safety at risk because of the high level of medical care she required.
The pair were found on Tuesday near Warakurna, just over an hour away from the NT border.
The woman needed urgent medical attention and was taken to a nursing post in Warakurna before being flown to Perth and admitted to the Peel Health Campus.
The man has been charged with deprivation of liberty and endangering the life, health and safety of a person.
He was refused bail and was listed to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
