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.
Elderly Man with Alzheimer’s Rescued Within 35 Minutes by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Using SafetyNet® Tracking System
Rescue Cases
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.
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.
