Close to home: Project Lifesaver aims to return those who wander back to their families

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By Anna Skinner

Taking care of a family member with special needs is difficult, whether it be Alzheimer’s, dementia, Downs Syndrome or autism. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department aims to make life easier for affected families with their nonprofit corporation, Project Lifesaver.

Some of those who have special needs are prone to wander. They might drift away from home and get lost, sparking fear both in themselves and family members. Project Lifesaver uses radio frequencies and wristbands — worn around the wrist or ankle on those who are prone to stray — to help locate loved ones once they’ve gone missing.

“When a client goes missing, we tell the family that the first thing to always do is dial 911,” said David McCormick, public relations coordinator of Project Lifesaver in Hamilton County since 2009. “They call 911 and we respond with the standard police and fire response. They come out and set up an area around the house where the individual was and we turn on the receiver.”

To sign up for Project Lifesaver, a family member contacts McCormick and, once an appointment is set up, the family begins a 10-page application process.

McCormick said nobody has ever been denied from the program, and they go out to the families and show the client and other family members how the transmitter works.

For Hamilton County residents, the transmitting device is free. A fundraiser, Summer Bash, raises money for Project Lifesaver to provide families with the materials needed.

“By doing (the fundraiser), we can provide this to all the residents of Hamilton County at no cost,” McCormick said.

When someone goes missing, the police, fire and K-9 units come out with a receiver and a frequency that matches the client’s transmitter.

“Once they are out there looking and they pick up a signal, they can fine tune the receiver,” McCormick said.

The signal from the receiver can pick up the transmitter frequency from about half a mile to three quarters of a mile away on level ground.

If in the air, the receiver can pick up the transmitter from seven to 15 miles.

“If we don’t find the client in 10 minutes, we call StatFlight and they immediately put a helicopter in the air to help us look,” McCormick said.

Since the establishment of Project Lifesaver in 2009, it has helped located clients four times. All incidents occurred in Fishers, and three of the times it was the same client.

One incident involved a client with Alzheimer’s who had wandered off.

Adam Herrington, a captain for the Carmel Fire Department, had a receiver open on the seat next to him and started picking up the signal while traveling. By using the receiver and fine-tuning the span, Herrington was able to locate the missing woman inside a Starbucks.

“I think it helps since the fire departments are strategically located around the community,” Herrington said. “It also provides for a fast response and time obviously matters, especially in a case of persons with autism or Alzheimer’s that have no sense of danger and tend to wander away. So getting there quickly and using the technology to quickly and safely locate them is key.”

This year’s Summer Bash fundraiser is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, and includes a car show, poker run, auction and shirt sales at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds.

“By doing our fundraiser, that’s how we can provide this whole program. The transmitter by itself is $325 and if a family loses it, we don’t question them, we just automatically replace it,” McCormick said.

To learn more, visit www.projectlifesaver.com. To sign up a family member to be a part of Project Lifesaver, call McCormick at 776-6757.

By the numbers

  • 4 – Times a client has been found in Hamilton County
  • 4 – Countries participating in Project Lifesaver (U.S., Canada, Australia and England)
  • 27 – Counties in Indiana participating in Project Lifesaver
  • 48 – States in the U.S. participating in Project Lifesaver
  • 6 – Departments in Hamilton County that have implemented the program (Carmel, Cicero, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office)
  • 19 – Receivers available throughout Hamilton County in various departments
  • 22 – Hamilton County clients in the Project Lifesaver program
  • 20 – Average minutes it takes Project Lifesaver to locate a missing client, compared to 12 to 15 hours of searching without the program.
  • 1,100 to 2,500 – Dollar value of a receiver
  • 325 – Dollar value of a transmitter

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