Missing deaf-mute woman found after three weeks on the subway in New York

A deaf, mute and autistic woman who disappeared after being released from a Queens hospital on Christmas Eve was found on Saturday and survived three weeks on the subway.

Samantha Primus’ sister Ghislaine Primus and two Good Samaritans found a missing woman at Bowling Green Station in Lower Manhattan after receiving a tip that she was on the 1 train.

“My heart sank, my heart sank,” Ghyslaine said at the evening’s press conference.

According to her, Samantha was dehydrated, became 10 pounds lighter and her legs were swollen.

“She was wearing slippers and a pair of socks in… such a cold, and she survived by jumping from train to train, looking and hoping she would make it home. And we found her,” added Ghyslaine and Samantha’s sister, Sophia Primus.

Samantha is now being treated at the Methodist Hospital in Park Slope, her family says, as they weigh their legal options against the Queens Hospital Center, which they claim prematurely discharged the 46-year-old woman on a freezing cold night.

Samantha left her sister Joanna Peck’s home in Elmont, where she was staying for the holidays, early on Dec. 23, trying to find her way back to her mother’s home in Brooklyn.

That evening, a passer-by in Queens found Samantha lying on the ground in 18-degree weather, clearly in need of help.

An ambulance took her to the Queens Hospital Center, but the staff let the deaf and taciturn woman back out at 2 a.m. — when the temperature hit 7 degrees below zero — with nothing but a list of homeless shelters.

“If they had done their duty, my sister would not have survived those terrible three weeks in the cold. Apologies will never be enough. We wonder what kind of hearts and heads work in this hospital,” Sophia said, adding that her sister arrived at the hospital without an identity card.

The family is currently suing the hospital, alleging that the hospital did not take due care in releasing the disabled woman and is now refusing to provide them with information.

“If the Nassau County police report is accurate, then it is clear that this hospital was not only negligent, but also heartless, and a corresponding court case will be filed,” said Sanford Rubinstein, an attorney for the family. “The city must be held accountable for the actions of those who work for them in their hospitals.”

Samantha’s family has spent the past three weeks constantly looking for her, with particular attention to trains, as most informants reported seeing her on the tracks.

Despite this, police patrolling the subway had no contact with the woman, said Rev. Kevin McCall of the Crisis Action Center.

“So many cops are patrolling the subway system, but not a single cop has found it. They were right there,” McCall said.

The NYPD and New York City Health & Hospitals, which operates the Queens Hospital Center, did not immediately comment on the situation.

But in a previous statement, NYC H+H noted that HIPAA rules prohibit disclosing details of patient care without the patient’s consent.

“We accept patients who need various levels of care in all our emergency departments and provide them with treatment confidentiality, as required by law,” the message says.