An elderly woman whose family said she had a history of wandering was found dead on the roof of UPMC Montefiore yesterday morning.

Rose Lee Diggs, 89, of Homewood, who suffered from dementia and heart problems, had been reported missing from the Oakland hospital on Tuesday night.

She apparently left her room on the hospital's 12th floor and exited through a fire door, police said. The door is equipped with an alarm but it did not sound, police said.

A maintenance worker found her body about 8 a.m. near the roof's door. She was dressed only in a hospital gown and slippers, a hospital spokesman said. Overnight temperatures yesterday morning dipped to 23 degrees.

She had slight cuts and bruises on her forehead that suggested she had fallen.

"We at UPMC are very saddened by the death of Mrs. Diggs and extend our deepest sympathy to her family," Frank Raczkiewicz, director of media relations for UPMC, said in an e-mail message yesterday afternoon. An earlier statement from UPMC misidentified the patient as Rose Biggs.

"We are committed to the care and treatment of all our patients in a safe and caring environment," he continued. "Our policies and training are designed to help our patients heal and to keep our patients safe."

Robert Peirce III, a lawyer for Mrs. Diggs' family, said UPMC officials were aware that Mrs. Diggs may have wandered from other hospital or nursing facilities.

"That was a concern the family had," he said. "UPMC knew or should have known that she had a past history of wandering."

Mr. Raczkiewicz did not comment on Mrs. Diggs' medical history. But he said her death has prompted a "thorough review of all our policies and procedures in order to prevent a similar incident for another patient in the future."

He said the hospital system had reported the incident to "appropriate regulatory and government agencies and will seek their input in our ongoing review."

Hospital officials also are cooperating with police, he said.

Mr. Peirce said he hadn't had a chance to review Mrs. Diggs' medical records and couldn't comment on any specific wandering incidents, but he acknowledged that she recently had been a patient at the Village at Pennwood nursing home, a 126-bed facility on West Street in Wilkinsburg.

While there, several Homewood neighbors said, she wandered away at least one time.

Pennwood's administrator, Thomas Trauger, declined comment, citing corporate policy.

Ms. Diggs' immediate family is declining to talk to the media, Mr. Peirce said.

Neighbors on Mulford Street in Homewood recalled Mrs. Diggs as a pleasant woman who chatted amiably with them but revealed little about her life.

Erma Bright, 87, who lives across the street, said she believed Mrs. Diggs came from the Hill District and had several brothers.

Property records show Mrs. Diggs as the owner of her two-story brick house for 30 years. Her son, Roderick, also lives there.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Mrs. Bright said as a television news broadcast about her neighbor's death played on a screen behind her. "That is so sad."

Barbara Anderson, 71, who lives two houses down from the Diggs family, said neighbors realized in August that something was wrong with Mrs. Diggs.

She was sweeping leaves while only partially dressed, and Ms. Anderson had to coax her back into her house.

After that episode, neighbors said, Mrs. Diggs went to live at Pennwood.

Health department spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman said she was unable to comment on specifics of the UPMC Montefiore incident, but said that in general, nursing homes are to convey any "necessary medical information" to hospitals when transferring patients to them, including a risk of wandering.

"A high elopement risk would be a necessary medical fact," Ms. Kriedeman said, and the hospital would be expected to devise a plan in such cases to make sure any risk is addressed.

Nursing homes are to report any elopements to the state health department within 24 hours, regardless of whether the wanderer is injured. They are to have assessments and care plans covering such individuals to prevent incidents from occurring.

Ms. Kriedeman said that in serious incidents such as yesterday's, the health department will conduct its own review to assess whether the hospital did anything wrong, but it defers to police to conduct the initial investigation.

It was unclear how long Mrs. Diggs had been a patient at UPMC Montefiore before her death. According to police, she was reported missing by hospital staff around 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The police bureau's missing persons unit took over the investigation, putting together fliers with Mrs. Diggs' picture and handing them out in the hospital.

Hospital staff searched the building, and at least one staff member searched the roof, according to police Lt. Kevin Kraus.

Mrs. Diggs' room was about 30 feet away from a nursing station, Lt. Kraus said. He was unsure why the fire exit alarm didn't go off when Mrs. Diggs opened the door.

After exiting the floor, she went up two short flights of stairs and entered a boiler room that connected to the roof through another door. The door doesn't lock, and Mrs. Diggs would have been able to re-enter the hospital, Lt. Kraus said.

The Allegheny County medical examiner's office believes Mrs. Diggs was outside overnight, although officials don't have an exact timeline.

When her body was discovered, medical staff brought her inside and tried to revive her, police said.

Lt. Kraus said police still have more interviews to conduct and would consult with the district attorney's office on whether charges would be filed.