KRGV.com

SAN BENITO - The Cameron County District Attorney's Office is looking into why medical records were left behind at the old Dolly Vinsant Hospital.

Leonel Betancourt, a San Benito resident, said the medical records contained important personal information. The documents were abandoned at the hospital after it closed its doors five years ago.

The concern for many former patients is that the information could have landed in the wrong hands.

"It raised a significant concern and raised a grand alarm to a bunch of people who said, ‘Hey, we got to get control of those. We need to know where they are and have them under lock and key,'" Betancourt said.

San Benito police confirmed they have responded to burglary and vandalism calls at the building since the hospital closed.

"Mainly, they have been targeting electrical wiring, copper and metal. That's what they have been taking," said Rogelio Banda, with the San Benito Police Department.

The building is in foreclosure.

Foreclosure attorney John Guevara said no records were ever stolen from the old hospital. They are now stored at a secured location. The case still attracted the attention of the District Attorney's office.

"The unit or the hospital, whoever was running the hospital at that time would be responsible for safeguarding those records. ... They have duty under the health laws of this state and the federal government to safeguard the records," said Maria de Ford, with the Cameron County District Attorney's Office.

The DA's office wants to find out if any laws were violated.