Earlier this month, a child wandered away from home and was found walking in a street. The child, who is on the autism spectrum, is non-verbal and couldn’t tell anyone who he was or where he lived.
An officer responding to the scene noticed the boy wearing a bracelet on his ankle – from Project Lifesaver. The officer took the boy’s photo and sent it to Sgt. Charles Lumpkin, who was home from work. In a matter of minutes, the boy was identified and ultimately returned to his worried family.
It wasn’t exactly the way Project Lifesaver was meant to be used, but it got the job done just the same, Sgt. Lumpkin told St. Lucie Voice.
Typically, a caregiver calls 911 to report the person missing is a client of Project Lifesaver. Authorities then tune their radio receivers to the registered frequency emitting from the special bracelet and search for the signal. Once locked on, they then follow the signal to the client.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office has also made use of Project Lifesaver through the department’s LOST program – Locating Our Survivors Timely. Two years ago, a high-functioning 17-year-old girl on the autism spectrum bolted from her home. Her father thought she was in bed, asleep.
When he discovered her missing, he called for help. He didn’t know for how long she’d been gone or how far away she might have gotten.
The radio frequency was picked up and she was found a quarter mile from home.
Dep. Shirely Lindstadt, LOST program coordinator, said they had driven along the road where she was found several times, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Instead, the teen had hunkered down among thick foliage just off the road.
Lindstadt said it could have taken them hours to find her.
Both law enforcement agencies have partnered with Project Lifesaver to provide, at no cost, special bracelets to those who are at risk for wandering, those on the autism spectrum as well as those with Alzheimer’s, dementia or other medical conditions that could cause them to take off.
The Port St. Lucie Police Department re-established its partnership a couple years ago and retrained key personnel on the system. “We moved full steam ahead,” Sgt. Lumpkin said. Previously, the department had the program, but shuttered it for lack of registered clients. Now, there are 46 active clients, whose ages range from 3 to more than 80. “I believe there’s a lot more,” Lumpkin said, explaining he estimates that even if just 1 percent of the city’s population were autistic or has a form of dementia, the total of 46 clients doesn’t come close. “The numbers are staggering.”
Dep. Lindstadt concurred with Sgt. Lumpkin’s assessment. The Sheriff’s Office has about 50 clients registered. And another organization, Alzheimer’s Community Care, has another 50 or so.
“Personally, I think this is a great program,” Lindstadt said.
The technology isn’t fancy or even up to date. There is no chip, no GPS. “It’s radio,” Sgt. Lumpkin said. “It’s antiquated, but it’s reliable.”
One of the biggest roadblocks to getting clients registered is the caregiver, authorities said. For a variety of reasons, some balk at the notion of registering their loved one and putting on them a radio-frequency emitting bracelet.
Denial is one of the bigger reasons, according to Sgt. Lumpkin. “Caregivers have every great intention,” he said, but they often don’t want to admit that their child or elderly parent needs additional support.
As the caregiver to his elderly parents – one with Alzheimer’s and the other with health issues – Lumpkin knows first-hand the stress caregivers often have.
Project Lifesaver could be a tool to help alleviate some of that stress, giving caregivers a bit of peace of mind knowing that if their loved one were to wander, they wouldn’t be lost for long.
Dep. Lindstadt said that, along with denial, another hurdle caregivers have difficulty clearing is the concern of “Big Brother.”
She said there is no dark room in which someone is watching dots on computer screens, monitoring clients’ every move. Because it’s radio frequency only, authorities only seek out clients when alerted to their wandering. “It gives us an edge” in finding them quickly, Lindstadt said.
Anyone interested in learning more about Project Lifesaver is encouraged to visit www.ProjectLifesaver.org. Those living within the City of Port St. Lucie are encouraged to call Sgt. Lumpkin at 772-807-4436 for more information. Those outside the city limits can contact the Sheriff’s Office Community Programs office by calling 772-871-5303 to find out more about the LOST program.