NewsPalm Beach CountyRegion C Palm Beach CountyWest Palm Beach

Actions

Families receive a tracking device to help find a loved one if they wander away

Posted
and last updated

Minutes matter when someone with dementia, Alzheimer's or someone who is on the autism spectrum wanders away.

Project Lifesaver is a bracelet that recently helped sheriffs deputies find a 79-year-old woman with dementia who wandered away from her home.

Tuesday afternoon, several families who have children on the spectrum received the Project Life-Saving device should their loved on wander away.

Michelle Webbner's child is on the spectrum. She received a tracking device today.

"He was a wanderer and a runner and escaped a lot. With this device I believe it will save him in the future," she said. 

The bracelet could make a difference for countless families.

Lisa Harrison told us about the time her son wandered away.

"When he was three, we were putting the other kids in the car and all of a sudden he was gone. We found him in the lake."

Her son Hudson, who is now seven years old, is on the autism spectrum. He also disappeared several months ago.

"We wound up calling the neighbors, calling the cops, everybody was out in the street looking for him. And we found him probably half a mile down the road in a neighbor's pool," said Harrison. 

Hudson learned how to swim after his first disappearance, but his mother says an electronic tracking device could help.

"I think the trackers are a good thing. As he gets older, they get smarter. As he gets older, he knows he can stand on things and flip locks and I'm always what lock can I put on."

Harrison is not one of the families that received a tracking device. But she says she has several locks on the doors and an alarm. A tracker would add more peace of mind.

"He will push chairs over and he will pop the locks up to get out," added Harrison.