A monitoring system is helping people in Fort Bend County keep track of loved ones who are at risk of wandering.
The program is called Project Lifesaver, which places bracelet on a loved one who has Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism and other cognitive disorders.
Dale Rivers has had Alzheimer’s for eight years and his wife, Pam, has dedicated her life to taking care of him.
“He remembers pretty much nothing. I tell him every morning who I am and who he is,” she explained.
However, Pam worries that one minute not watching him and he could leave their home and get lost. Once in the past, she went outside for what seemed like a minute and returned to find Dale had left and she couldn’t find him.
“I came back and he wasn’t inside. It scared me. I was scared! This was before Project Lifesaver,” Pam Rivers explained.
The wearable device is for people with cognitive disorders. Then, if someone one calls to report a loved one missing, deputies know where to start searching.
“This is like a radio in your car,” said Michael Kahlenberg, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office Coordinator of Volunteer Services.
Kahlenberg said the device to search the area is more accurate than a GPS tracker because it can see through walls, buildings and wooded areas instead of a general address.
“GPS will give you a circle, but you’ve still got to search that circle,” he explained.
Dale Rivers was the first in Fort Bend County to have a bracelet placed on him and now a bigger population of people are eligible to get one: those with Autism, Down Syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and dementia.
“The key thing is, we’re able to find them and bring them home in about 30 minutes or less,” Kahlenberg said.
“So it’s a lot faster and your chances of getting your loved one back home, alive, uninjured, escalate dramatically,” Pam said.
Fort Bend helped expand this program to Katy ISD and Katy police, which means this is available in parts of Waller and Harris County too.
If you’re interested in finding out if it’s available to you, contact the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office at 281-341-9262.