Essex County OPP undergo training on 'Lifesaver' device to help locate missing persons
Many people with autism and dementia tend to wander, the Essex County OPP now has 10 new devices to help find them.
“We really want people to be as independent as possible, but safe in their community as well,” said Rosemary Fiss, program manager for the Alzheimer’s Society Windsor Essex.
The organization helped buy 10 new Lifesaver Radio Frequency receivers.
Nine members of the Essex County OPP have been training this week on how to use the RF device.
“We certainly utilize this program to locate individuals in our community that are at risk to bring them home safer to their family as quickly as possible,” said detachment commander Angela Ferguson.
According to the Alzheimer's Society, six in 10 people with dementia will get lost at some point. Having a safety plan in place is important.
“This is a search tool, another tool we utilize that help our community members and help the caregivers have a bit of peace of mind to know we have another tool to locate them,” said Ferguson.
During an exercise the person at risk wore a transmitter that is registered with both the OPP and Windsor Police Service.
“This scenario was a child with autism departed from school and he never returned,” said const. Rob Belanger.
He and his partner were led to a park next to the Woodslee Library.
“As we got closer and walked, we switched from long range to a medium range and that told us we were in the right area,” Belanger explained.
The RF signal can be picked up easier than a GPS device.
“They might be found in a shrub or in a culvert or under a front porch so having the locating device is really helpful,” said Fiss.
It took officers about 10 minutes to find the transmitter, which was located in a play area behind the library.
Time is of the essence according to Fiss.
“Fifty per cent of people who are not found within 12 hours have an extreme risk of health as well so we really want to find people quickly,” she said.
Anyone who signs up for this project has an initial cost of $200 and a refundable security deposit of $100. It then costs $20 per month for registration.
The Windsor-Essex branch of the Alzheimer's Society helps fund the project locally every year.
“Project Lifesaver allows us to keep family members in their homes longer and to be with their families longer without having to go into a nursing home,” said OPP const. Jacquie Winand-Bacon.
She says many lives have been saved since she helped bring the program to the province in 2005.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.