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Project Lifesaver gets off to a good start

Helps locate persons who wander way from caregivers

So far, seven people have signed up for Project Lifesaver, a program designed to quickly track down persons who might wander off such as those suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, Down's Syndrome or children with Autism.

And a Georgia legislator wants to expand the project state-wide after learning more from the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, which is the first agency in Georgia to offer the service.

Waterproof bracelets that are sturdily affixed provide a constant tracking signal for sheriff's deputies to hone in with after a caretaker reports one of the program participants missing. The Fayette County Sheriff's Department, the first in Georgia to offer the service, is equipped with a helicopter unit that can aid in finding the missing person in minutes, officials say.

Nationwide, the system has a 100 percent success rate, officials say.

Recently, state Rep. LaNett Stanley-Turner, D-Atlanta, met with sheriff's officials along with representatives of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Sheriff's Association and the Atlanta City Council to get more information on the program.

Stanley-Turner said the program is a necessity for the state.

"I personally know of the great value this program will be to me, having an 87-year-old mother with Alzheimer's who has wandered off in the past," Stanley-Turner said. "Likewise, this program will help thousands of families across our state.

Stanley-Turner also wants to see the state develop a statewide alert system similar to the Amber Alert system in place where radio and TV stations broadcast information to help locate missing children who are believed to be in immediate danger. A move is afoot to have such legislation introduced in the City of Atlanta, to be known as Mattie's Call after Mattie Moore, an Atlanta resident and Alzheimer's patient who wandered away from her home in April and has not yet been found.