Paranoia also is a characteristic of dementia, and some psychological conditions or even certain combinations of medications can cause delusions or hallucinations. They keeping hearing about seniors being victimized. That's enough to make anyone paranoid. A decreased sense of privacy can make things worse. Nervous about staff coming and going at will, residents may hide things and then forget where.
Memory problems are common, too.
Even folks with good memories may take a while to familiarize themselves with new environments and where things are stored. Following up When residents report anything missing, Singer assumes they're telling the truth. You owe it to them. Some adult children deduct the cost of permanently lost items from the monthly rent. But residents need to be proactive.