It was a winter night and 20 degrees outside, maybe even less, when Laura Young’s father found himself outside in his pajamas.
He had Alzheimer’s disease and managed to wander out of the house in the middle of the night.
What soon ensued was a huge search and rescue operation. A deputy helping with the search found him in a neighbor’s unlocked home.
Though he was found safe, Young said that as a family member not knowing where he was brought “sheer terror” when thinking about how something bad might happen to him.
Laura and her husband Richard are members of TRIAD (The Right Information And Direction), which offers a variety of assistance to Brown County’s senior citizens and home-bound individuals.
One of the recent developments for TRIAD is their partnership with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department to offer Project Lifesaver to qualifying residents.
Project Lifesaver is a wristband transmitter operating off of radio frequencies developed by the 43rd Virginia Search Rescue in 1999.
According to an informational packet from Project Lifesaver, the program has been effective in locating Alzheimer’s patients and is the world’s leading system for search and rescue operations of individuals with autism, Down syndrome or mental disabilities for individuals of all ages.
The project was brought to the attention of Brown County law enforcement during a TRIAD meeting. Members approached Chief Deputy Brad Stogsdill and asked if the sheriff’s department would be interested.
He and reserve deputy and TRIAD member Keith Baker then attended a training on Project Lifesaver in Seymour, asking pertinent questions.
Stogsdill knew then that it would be a nice addition to local community resources.
Now the sheriff’s department is certified to operate the program and will train its officers at their annual training the last weekend of February and first weekend of March.
On the move: Deputy Austin Schonfeld searches for a Project Lifesaver bracelet at the Law Enforcement Center in a test of the product. Officers will get familiar with the equipment at their annual training at the end of this month and beginning of March.
Abigail Youmans | The Democrat
Officers use the Project Lifesaver mobile locator tracking system in a test of the product on Feb. 17.
Abigail Youmans | The Democrat
Deputy Austin Schonfeld locates the hidden Project Lifesaver bracelet under a lamppost while using the equipment on Feb. 17.
Abigail Youmans | The Democrat
From left: Deputy Austin Schonfeld, Det. Paul Henderson and Sgt. Brad Stogsdill pose with project Lifesaver equipment and the certificate obtained for the program, which will allow them to locate potential missing subjects who wear the bracelet.
Abigail Youmans | The Democrat
Project Lifesaver is now up and running through the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and TRIAD. The program allows individuals who are cared for 24/7 to receive a bracelet that may help locate those who may wander from care.
Abigail Youmans | The Democrat
How it works
There are 1,600 communities in America’s 50 states using Project Lifesaver. It has assisted in more than 3,700 rescues, according to the company’s CEO Chief J. E. “Gene” Saunders.
Should anyone from those communities who are enrolled travel to Brown County, they can make contact with the sheriff’s department, just in case their loved one should wander. Being a tourist community, it is a nice option for families who visit, Stogsdill said.
“If someone from another county that uses (Project Lifesaver) comes here, will be camping for a week and they have a child with a bracelet, they can contact us, give their information,” Stogsdill said.
Those enrolled are given a wristband with an ID-specific device that omits a tracking signal on an individually assigned FM radio frequency.
When caregivers notify law enforcement of a missing individual, a search and rescue team responds to the wanderer’s area and starts searching with the mobile locator tracking system.
During a training session of Project Lifesaver, deputies with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department started at Deer Run Park and tracked the bracelet back to the Law Enforcement Center — more than a mile away — the scanners beeping louder and clearer as they inched closer.
For an individual to qualify for Project Lifesaver, they need to be under 24/7 care and not have the ability to drive.
A daily maintenance log must also be kept of the bracelet in order for it to be effective. Bracelets are waterproof and batteries last for 30 days.
Because Project Lifesaver bracelets are ID specific, visitors to the county can communicate with the local sheriff’s department to make sure there are not conflicting frequencies, Det. Paul Henderson said.
If someone from Brown County is enrolled in the program, they can do the same when traveling to a community that also uses Project Lifesaver.
“It just helps us locate people so much faster and with a lot less resources that what we’ve had to use in the past,” Stogsdill said.
Henderson said comparing Project Lifesaver to a standard search and rescue mission is a matter of hundreds versus thousands of dollars.
Three years ago, there was a search and rescue mission in the southern part of Brown County.
An Alzheimer’s patient had wandered out of their house when a caretaker was busy. When they turned around, the individual was gone, Henderson said.
The search and rescue mission that followed utilized officers, fire departments, helicopter, horses and dogs.
Not only is money spent on resources in using different personnel to respond to a call like that, Stogsdill said that in a situation like that first responders are also busy responding to the search if another issue requires their attention.
The weather at the time of the local search three years ago was inclement, with temperature ranging in the 40s or 50s, and the individual could have succumbed to hypothermia, Henderson said.
The search lasted for more than 30 hours.
“Had they been on this program, it would’ve been resolved a lot quicker with hardly any resources being extinguished,” Stogsdill said.
A common mistake when individuals go missing is those who lose track of someone tend to look and then call officers, Henderson said.
If someone goes missing while under care, law enforcement should be called immediately.
In a situation where a K9 officer may be used, it could affect the search by changing the scent of a trail.
Community value
Laura and Richard Young’s involvement with TRIAD goes back 15 years, Richard currently serves on its leadership team of three individuals.
The couple first learned about Project Lifesaver through the Indiana Sheriff’s Association Magazine. They gave the organization a call to find out more information and soon enough they were writing a grant for funding.
They received grant funding from the Brown County Community Foundation, allowing them to get bracelets to those who need them at no cost.
There were two other funding groups that reviewed the grants and offered Brown County’s Project Lifesaver funds: the Dean and Nancy Ramsburg Fund and Smithville Charitable Foundation Donor Advised Fund.
Through this project, Laura said she believes value will be added to Brown County community life.
Richard said they are letting the community know that the project is ready. Families can be given information when they show interest and meet with TRIAD who will explain the process.
“It’s available to anybody who wants to make use of it,” he said.
Speaking to her own personal experience, she hopes the community will benefit.
“This does happen and it’s a tragedy when it happens,” she said of loved ones wandering off and getting lost.
“Anything we can do for those vulnerable people who might wander would just be a piece of mind for families and provide rescue for folks before something bad happens.”
