SEQUIM — Linda Gooch recalls the day when her father, the late Ray Guerin, walked into QFC supermarket in winter of 2005 and then went missing for at least six hours.
It prompted a citywide search involving police, firefighters and volunteer searchers.
Her father, who had suffered two strokes and was well into his 80s, had entered the store off East Washington Street to pick up a prescription, while his wife, Donna, waited for him in their car in the parking lot.
He then wandered out the back door of QFC supermarket and was lost for six hours. He was found huddled up in the bushes behind the store at about 9:30 p.m.
“It was like 23 degrees out, and he was under a tree right behind QFC,” Gooch remembered this week. “He thought he would have died there.”
The family’s terrifying experience of not knowing where their loved one had wandered inspired the donation of $60,000 — so far — from the Ray and Donna Guerin Family Fund to Project Lifesaver.
Project Lifesaver was established in February through the Sequim Police Department. It includes Clallam County Fire District No. 3 and the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
So far, it has helped prevent 23 people from wandering off into harm’s way.
Tracking devices
Project Lifesaver uses electronic tracking devices — radio receivers and transmitting bracelets that are placed around the wrist or ankle — to find those with Alzheimer’s disease, Down syndrome, autism or other mental dysfunction disorders.
The devices allow authorities to search with trackers that beep, with the sound increasing in volume as searchers get closer to the person wearing the device.
Some 20 people have been equipped with the devices inside the Sequim city limit and three in the county outside town.
The project has funding to help others in West Clallam County, said Sequim Police Information Officer Maris Turner.
“Clients range in age from 5 to 90,” Turner said, adding that she hopes more West Clallam County residents will take advantage of the program.
Sequim police handle the area between Deer Park Road, west, and east the Clallam-Jefferson County line. The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office handles Deer Park Road to the North Olympic Peninsula’s West End.
The average rescue time is dramatically less time than in the past: about a half-hour versus several hours or days without a tracking device.
Project Lifesaver International has trained law enforcement personnel on how to use the equipment, which can be used to search by car or on foot, and how to best communicate with those who are wandering.
Free service
The typical cost for an individual to enroll is a one-time $99 enrollment fee and $25 per month, according to the Project Lifesaver Web site — www.projectlifesaver.org.
The Ray and Donna Guerin Foundation has provided donations so it will be a free service to local families.
“My mother wanted to make sure that other people did not have to go through this and not know where their loved ones are,” Gooch said, adding that the family plans to continue funding the program that also accepts other donations.
To find out about registering someone with Alzheimer’s or another disability in Project Lifesaver, phone the Sequim Police Department at 360-683-7227.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-6812391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
