Transmitter bracelets help cops locate at-risk people

A technology originally developed to locate stolen vehicles will now help Flathead County law enforcement agencies locate missing Alzheimer’s and dementia patients as well as children with autism and Down syndrome.

In a press conference Friday at the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Search and Rescue Coordinator Brian Heino unveiled the local introduction of Project Lifesaver. The project, established in 1999 by the 43rd Search and Rescue Company of the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office, uses radio transmitter bracelets manufactured by LoJack to locate those at-risk individuals who have wandered off from families or caregivers.

“We’ve all in the community probably dealt with somebody or know somebody that has Alzheimer’s or has an autistic child, and it’s very difficult for them,” Heino said. “A lot of times they’ll turn around and that person is gone. And finding them is even harder because they end up hiding and those types of things.

“This allows us to locate them more rapidly with less resources. Maybe one to two people is all we’re going to need, whereas before 20 to 30 individuals at minimum are going to be deployed out to find these people.”

The system works by allowing two vehicles with antennas for the equipment to search by proximity to find where the wearer has wandered. The officers then switch to a handheld directional antenna that leads them to the precise location of the missing person.

Both antennas emit a chirping noise that grows louder as they approach the transmitter.

Heino called the system “instrumental” in improving efforts to locate such at-risk missing people.

“The data shows that after 24 hours, fatalities in Alzheimer’s is very high,” he said. “In autistic children, we’re really worried about them because they like water, and Flathead County has a lot of water in it, so our concern in those scenarios is drownings and those types of things.

“So the faster we can locate them, the better off we are, especially from the lifesaving standpoint.”

In fact, Heino said officers were able to locate three bracelets hidden in Kalispell for training purposes within an hour and 15 minutes. According to prior searches by organizations already using the system, information on which is posted online, the average search takes only 30 minutes.

“It’s a pretty quick response, and especially for our terrain features here in Montana, it’s a huge resource for us,” he said.

The program was brought to the department’s attention by the Glacier Pilot Club of Flathead Valley, who learned of it through their membership in Pilot International.

Through a federal grant, the county was able to purchase two systems, which came with the locator equipment and one bracelet. A successful application to Flathead Electric Co-op’s Round Up for Safety program brought in another $8,000 to purchase an additional 28 bracelets for a total of 30. Round Up for Safety allows customers to have their monthly electric bills rounded up to the nearest dollar, with the additional funds pooled and granted to different causes in the community.

Glacier Pilot Club’s Project Lifesaver committee Chairwoman Joni McKiernan said her organization has other grant applications in process, although none as large as the grant received from Flathead Electric.

“There will be a Whitefish community grant being considered and voted on very shortly here by the first of November, and if they decide to give us that grant, then we will buy another set of equipment that will be in place in Whitefish permanently,” McKiernan said.

“It will be their equipment, and then additional bracelets will also be ordered for them, so we’re hoping to get that additional grant to cover the north end of the valley for a quicker response.”

Heino said the cost of managing the program is minimal, close to $30 per year, while the bracelets cost roughly $295 each. McKiernan said that for those people who are willing to pay for their bracelet, her organization can provide matching grant funding through Pilot International.

To become involved in the program, an application has to be submitted to and reviewed by the sheriff’s office. A bracelet, which must be tested every day, can then be issued.

In addition, the wearer must have the battery changed by the sheriff’s office once per month. Heino said that provides the added benefit of familiarizing the wearer with the people who would be searching for them, so they are less likely to hide or run away from a search party.

“We are the first one in the state of Montana to have this technology,” Heino said. “Oregon’s about the next closest and then the East Coast.”

So far, the sheriff’s office has approved two or three individuals for the bracelets.