03/23/2011 On March 23, 2011, a 72-year-old resident of Philadelphia who has Alzheimer’s Disease wandered away from her home and did not return. Upon realizing that she was missing, her caregiver contacted 911 and informed a dispatcher that the missing person was enrolled in the SafetyNet® Tracking service, which enables public safety agencies to more effectively find and rescue individuals with cognitive conditions who are prone to wandering and becoming lost. Upon receiving the call, the Philadelphia Police Department dispatch notified its ground units. Soon after arriving at the woman’s last known location, detectives with the Philadelphia Police Department equipped with SafetyNet Search and Rescue Receivers picked up a signal from the missing woman’s SafetyNet bracelet. In just over two and a half hours, detectives located the woman, who was sitting inside of an unlocked vehicle approximately eight blocks away from her home. The woman was later returned to her home unharmed, despite the cold temperatures and the fact that she was only wearing nightwear.
Rescue Cases
11/01/22 SafetyNet client was reported missing at approx. 12:30 PM. At approx. 1:00 PM PBSO Deputy picked up clients signal with the SafetyNetequipment about 1/4 mile from home. Deputy reported that the client went for a “walk” a couple of hours ago but wasn’t reported missing until 12:30.
SafetyNet client wandered from home on 11/6/22. Riviera PD was not notified until 11/7/22. Due to an extremelate callPBSO Air support was activated.7:15 PM PBSO Air Wing picked up clients signal in area of Jake Lane/Marsh Harbor. Riviera PD K9 was deployed.Client was located in area of W 12th St. 1700 block by Riviera PD at the direction of PBSO helicopter SafetyNet crew.
09/08/2010 An eight-year-old boy with autism wandered off from his home in Quincy on September 8, 2010 and headed for the ocean. As soon as his mother realized he was missing, she contacted the Quincy, MA Police Department. In only 14 minutes, police found the child, who was swimming alone in the ocean waters – 100 yards from shore. This dramatic story had a happy ending, thanks in large part to SafetyNet® Tracking System’s technology and the excellent work of local police. Through the SafetyNet Bracelet worn on the child’s wrist, officers with the Quincy Police Department were able to use their SafetyNet Search and Rescue Receivers to find the child’s exact location and safely rescue the boy from the ocean waters. Because SafetyNet uses Radio Frequency technology, it was highly effective at finding this child even though he was in a body of water. This is a key differentiator from GPS-based systems and can make all the difference, particularly since children with autism tend to gravitate towards water. In this case, Quincy Police Lt. Dan Minton, received a strong signal at Wollaston Beach and was able to rescue the child before any harm could have potentially taken place.
10/20/2010 On October 20, 2010, a 75-year-old male resident of Hillsborough County, FL who has Alzheimer’s disease went out for a walk with his wife, went missing and did not return home. Upon realizing that he was missing, his wife immediately called 911 and informed the dispatcher that the missing person was enrolled in SafetyNet® Tracking Systems, a service that enables public safety agencies to more quickly find and rescue individuals with cognitive conditions who are prone to wandering and becoming lost. Upon receiving the call, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) dispatcher immediately accessed the SafetyNet Database, obtained the missing man’s unique Radio Frequency number, as well as his photograph and physical description. This information was given to the office’s trained officials for use in their ground and aviation units. Within only 30 minutes, ground units equipped with SafetyNet Search and Rescue Receivers picked up a signal from the missing man’s bracelet, which was radioed to the already in-flight HCSO helicopter. The helicopter picked up a strong signal and within minutes, spotted the missing man walking along the street several blocks from his Valrico home. The air unit radioed the man’s location to ground units, which rescued the man who was later returned home unharmed.
06/17/2011 Combination of Ground Units and Helicopter Equipped with SafetyNet Search & Rescue Receivers Helps to Enable Fast Rescue On June 16th, 2011, a 17-year-old boy with autism who lives in Tampa wandered outside of his residence and did not return. Upon realizing that he was missing, the boy’s caregiver notified the Tampa Police Department about his disappearance. The Tampa Police later learned that the boy was enrolled in SafetyNet Tracking, a service that enables public safety agencies to more effectively find and rescue individuals with cognitive conditions who are prone to wandering and becoming lost. The service features a SafetyNet Bracelet worn by a client that emits Radio Frequency signals, which can be tracked by local public safety officials via their SafetyNet Search and Rescue Receivers. To assist with this search and rescue, the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office (HCSO) was notified about the incident and they immediately informed their ground and aviation units about the boy’s disappearance. Shortly thereafter, HCSO helicopter and ground units equipped with SafetyNet Search and Rescue Receivers picked up a signal from the missing boy’s bracelet. Just 15 minutes after receiving the initial Radio Frequency signal from the SafetyNet bracelet, deputies with HCSO located the boy nearly a half a mile away from his residence sleeping inside an unlocked car at an auto dealership on North Florida Avenue in Tampa. The boy was later returned to his residence unharmed. This is the third rescue made by HCSO using SafetyNet’s technology and equipment. The SafetyNet service, which has been available to residents in Hillsborough County since September 2009, provides peace of mind to caregivers of people at risk of wandering by using proven technology specifically designed for public safety agencies.
11/29/2011 Plymouth County Sheriff Uses SafetyNet Tracking Service to Locate Alzheimer’s Resident Unharmed; Had Wandered from Halifax Home PLYMOUTH, MA – November 30, 2011 – Deputies from the Plymouth County Sheriff’s department and Halifax Police successfully deployed Tuesday night to locate an elderly Halifax resident who had wandered from home, using a new device that allowed searchers to locate the missing man in a matter of minutes. Local officials reported the 79-year-old man missing shortly after 5 p.m. yesterday, officials said. Specially trained responders arrived on scene and located the man, unharmed, in a wooded area about a quarter-mile from his back door. “As soon as we arrived, we were able to pick up a strong radio signal from the SafetyNet Tracking device,” said James Muscato, Superintendent for Law Enforcement at the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department. “We followed the signal with the tracking receiver (and) he was right there in some briars, but otherwise OK.” Muscato said from the initial notification to finish, the rescue took only 45 minutes. The Tuesday event was the first time public safety officials have successfully activated the tracking device since being implemented countywide last April. The Sheriff’s Department, local police departments and SafetyNet have worked together to bring the service to 23 out of 27 communities in Plymouth County. The SafetyNet service provides law enforcement with the tools and training to more effectively find and rescue individuals who could or are prone to wandering and becoming lost. It also helps caregivers provide an added layer of protection for loved ones with cognitive conditions from the life-threatening behavior of wandering. To maximize resources, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department has trained and certified 20 Deputies on the SafetyNet service. The service will be used to supplement traditional search and rescue operations conducted by local police and fire departments. Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald Jr. said the rescue proved the value of the new program, which partners his officers with local police to rapidly respond to wandering situations where moments become vital. “This partnership makes it easy to maximize manpower and ensure a fast response. With six rescue receivers in place around the county, searchers are able to grab the closest kit and go.”
12/20/2011 On December 20th, a 52-year-old man with dementia slipped away from an assisted living facility in the Miami area sometime in the early morning. When he was discovered missing, the Hialeah Police Department dispatched trained and equipped Detectives to begin searching for him. Once they were able to pick up the signal within a few miles from the facility, they were able to find and rescue him in less than an hour. He was found standing on the edge of a canal disoriented but unharmed. The family was greatly relieved to hear that he was safe and sound. Below is an excerpt from a letter written by a family member to the Chief of Police at the Hialeah Police Department shortly after his rescue: “I live in Austin, Texas but I am from the Miami area originally and still have family there. This morning, my brother-in-law, who has dementia, managed to run away from the assisted living facility that he was at in your city. He has been a serious flight risk for over a year and we had done everything we could do to make sure that he wore a SafetyNet bracelet so that if he did run away, he might be located more rapidly. Our hearts sunk when our phone rang early this morning and my wife, his legal guardian, was informed that he had run away overnight. I was able to speak by telephone to a Detective on the scene who was equipped and trained with the SafetyNet tracking equipment. There was no sign of him for the first hour but the Detective called back later to tell me that he had been found in Miami Springs, some distance away. I spent twenty-eight years at the Austin Police Department until my retirement in 2008 and I know that this is a program that you are not required to participate in but I cannot commend you enough for choosing to take the lead in finding these missing and endangered citizens. These are not just “missing persons”; they are people unable to care for themselves and have little or no survival skills to be on the streets alone. God Bless you and your officers especially in this holiday season when you all have to be away from your families so that you can protect and serve ours!” We at SafetyNet are grateful for the efforts put forth by our law enforcement partners such as Hialeah Police in helping to bring lost individuals home safely. Its stories like these that make being a part of this community so worthwhile. It is especially meaningful during this time of year. We wish you and your loved ones a very safe and happy Holiday Season!
02/16/2012 Last Thursday, February 16th, at approximately 10:00 AM, a 73-year-old male who suffers from dementia was reported missing by a family member. Fortunately, this Philadelphia resident was enrolled in the SafetyNet Tracking Program and was wearing his SafetyNet “locator bracelet” at the time of his disappearance. SafetyNet officials were notified and they worked in conjunction with the Philadelphia Police Department to search for the missing individual. Officials arrived at the individual’s last known location and conducted a sweep of the surrounding area with their SafetyNet Search and Rescue equipment. Just 30 minutes after arriving at the missing individual’s last known location, officers picked up the signal emitting from his SafetyNet Bracelet. He was located walking eight city blocks away from his residence. Besides being cold, the individual was unharmed and later transported back to his family’s residence. This was the third SafetyNet rescue in Philadelphia in less than a year!
