Delta Air Lines lost an 80-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease who was supposed to have been given an escort between flights in the Atlanta airport, said his relatives.

Antonio Ayala was flying from New York's LaGuardia airport to El Paso, Texas, and had to change planes in Atlanta.  He disappeared after his flight landed and was not found until nearly 24 hours later, near a bus station in downtown Atlanta, several miles from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes said the airline was not told of Ayala's medical condition and it cannot be held responsible for the whereabouts of every adult passenger. 

The airline flew Ayala's relatives to Atlanta and housed them in a hotel while they waited for him to be released from the hospital.  It is not the first time that a person with Alzheimer's has been lost by an airline.  In 2001, Margie Dabney, 70, became separated from her husband during an American Airlines stopover at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.  Dabney was never found.  Last year, her husband, Joe Dabney, agreed to an undisclosed settlement with American Airlines. He had sought $10 million.