Last year, Dillon County Sheriff’s Office began its endeavor to start Project Lifesaver.
Project Lifesaver, established in April 1999 in Chesapeake, Virginia. The primary mission of Project Lifesaver is to provide timely response to save lives and reduce potential injury for adults and children who wander due to Alzheimer’s, autism, and other related conditions or disorders.
The task of searching for wandering or lost individuals with Alzheimer’s, autism, down syndrome, dementia or other cognitive conditions is a growing and serious responsibility. Without effective procedures and equipment, searches can involve multiple agencies, hundreds of officers, countless man hours and thousands of dollars. More importantly, because time is of the essence, every minute lost increases the risk of a tragic outcome.
Currently, over 1,400 member agencies in 48 states participate in the program—police, sheriff, fire, public safety departments and other emergency responders. The method relies on proven radio technology and specially trained search and rescue teams. Citizens enrolled in Project Lifesaver wear a small transmitter on the wrist or ankle that emits an individualized tracking signal. If an enrolled client goes missing, the caregiver notifies their local Project Lifesaver agency, and a trained emergency team responds to the wanderer’s area. Most who wander are found within a few miles from home, and search times have been reduced from hours and days to minutes. Signal can be tracked on ground or by air over a several mile radius. Recovery times for PLI clients average 30 minutes — 95% less time than standard operations. So far they maintain 100% success rate with over 2000 rescues. The signal can be tracked over a radius of several miles. Visitors to our area, who are on Project Lifesaver where they are from, can contact us while they are visiting our area and we can also enter their frequency number into our system
Dillon County Sheriff’s Office has now received the proper training and purchased equipment to begin their endeavor with Project Lifesaver. We have limited bands at this time. They will be given on a first come first serve and need basis. If you or someone you know has a child with Autism or other disability that cause them to wander and would like to apply for a band, applications can be picked up from the Sheriff’s Office at 1033 Old Latta Hwy., Suite A, Dillon, SC or you may contact Kim Brumble at (843) 845-3741 or kbrumble@dillonsheriff.org.
