Deputies use special equipment to find older person who wandered away from Pittsburgh home
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Special equipment helped sheriff's deputies find an elderly person who had wandered away from their home in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office said a Project Lifesaver alert went out shortly before 10 a.m. for someone who had left their home in Pittsburgh's Knoxville neighborhood.
Using an electronic locator that searches for a signal emitted by a bracelet worn by people enrolled in the Project Lifesaver program, deputies were able to find the person less than seven minutes later near Warrington and Beltzhoover avenues, about three-quarters of a mile away.
"How it works is there's a pager system where when an at-risk individual goes missing, the different members of this team will be notified," said Allegheny County Sheriff's Office Lt. Conor Mullen.
While the person said they were cold, the sheriff's office said they were otherwise unharmed. The person was taken to a Pittsburgh police station before they were returned to their home.
The sheriff's office said its deputies were trained last year through the nationwide Project Lifesaver program, which is designed to help families who have loved ones with special needs or older family members who have dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
"It's like a two-day training where you get familiar with the device, then you do a practical application with the device," said Conor.
The final test is going out on your own.
"Drive around, find a signal and then once you're able to locate that signal, transition from the roof-mounted antenna to the handheld and get a directional response," Conor said. "This technology that we have is invaluable," he added.
Project Lifesaver says the non-profit was designed for at-risk people who are "prone to the life threatening behavior of wandering." People enrolled in the program wear a small transmitter on their wrist or ankle that emits an individualized frequency signal. If the person goes missing, first responders can use that frequency to find them.
"Today is one of those happy proactive days where it feels good to go back to the office, you didn't have to bring bad news to anyone," Conor said.
Locally, the program is administered through the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office. For more information on how to enroll, call Assistant District Attorney Angela Kelley at 412-350-3138 or click here.
