SEQUIM — Project Lifesaver, a tracking system that combines a transmitting bracelet and a hand-held radio antenna, helped police find a missing woman last weekend.
An elderly woman was reported missing from Costco Wholesale, 955 W. Washington St., at 1:45 p.m. Saturday, Sequim Police Lt. Sheri Crain said.
Crain and Sequim Officer Darrell Nelson, assisted by a third worker from Clallam County Fire District 3, began searching for the woman at and near Costco and expanded the hunt from there.
They knew the woman was a participant in the Project Lifesaver program, in which the Sequim Police provides a wristwatch-size tracking bracelet to people who are prone to wandering: patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia, children with autism and people with Down syndrome.
Found minutes later
Less than an hour after the search began, the officers found the woman in the front yard of a home near City Hall, 152 W. Cedar St.
The woman was fine, Crain said, adding she has wandered away before, and police were able to find her by using their antennas and her tracking bracelet.
The woman is one of 18 participants in the Project Lifesaver program, which is funded by a pair of grants from Ray and Donna Guerin of Sequim.
In February last year, the Guerins gave $20,000 to the Sequim Police Department, making it the only law enforcement agency on the North Olympic Peninsula to offer the tracking system.
Second $20,000 grant
And on June 8, a second $20,000 grant came from the Guerin family. The fresh funds will help the Sequim Police Department maintain the program and buy more equipment for more clients, Crain said.
Participants wear their waterproof wristlets at all times, and a police staff member replaces the batteries every 30 days.
“Project Lifesaver is a wonderful program,” Crain said, adding the department is constantly seeking to raise awareness of it.
Sequim Detective Kori Malone said the Sequim Police have responded to about one Project Lifesaver-related call every week for the past six weeks.
The department has responded to 14 calls to search for clients since the program began, she added.
While many clients are elderly, there are also a few Sequim children with autism who wear the bracelets.
During the heat wave earlier this month, two Project Lifesaver clients wandered off and were found within 30 minutes, thanks to the tracking devices.
Residents of Sequim and the rest of Clallam County Fire District 3, which covers the Dungeness Valley from the Clallam-Jefferson county line to Deer Park Road, are eligible for the program.
To find out about enrolling a loved one in Project Lifesaver, phone the Sequim Police Department at 360-683-7227.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.
