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May 19, 2008

Danvers program helps locate missing elderly

By Bruno Matarazzo Jr.

DANVERS — A new device that helps police quickly locate residents who have a tendency to wander due to medical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease will be available for the first time here.

Danvers police officers and members of the Danvers Rotary Club will be enrolling residents in Project Lifesaver tomorrow at the Danvers Senior Center. Police Capt. Patrick Ambrose will give a presentation on the program starting at 10 a.m.

"Nationally, it takes up to nine hours to find a missing person, and stats from the Project Lifesaver have basically averaged 22 minutes," Ambrose said.

The program works by assigning each participant a transmitter, which is worn as a bracelet or around the ankle. The transmitter is assigned a frequency which police can search using a radio receiver.

"We dial in and it emits a tone ... and we narrow in on the missing person," Ambrose said.

Ambrose said the program has helped police save almost 1,700 people and has had a 100 percent success rate.

Participants will be asked to sign a $300 lease agreement for the equipment, but the fee will be waived for indigent residents.

"We don't want to deny this to anybody," he said.

A major portion of the funding was provided by the Danvers Rotary Club and a grant from the Rotary Foundation.

For more information, contact Susan Fletcher at 978-777-0001, Ext. 3027.

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