FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — Pam Rivers cares for her 79-year old husband, Dale, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, at their home in Richmond.
He was the first Fort Bend County resident to receive a special tracking bracelet giving Pam more peace of mind.
“This technology is amazing,” said the full-time caregiver. “This could be life or death.”
The blue bracelet, which resembles a watch, is actually a personal locating device issued by Project Lifesaver International. Each bracelet transmits a radio frequency specific to the individual wearer.
The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office is actively working to register more residents with cognitive disorders who are prone to wandering with Project Lifesaver.
In 2019, when the Harris County Sheriff’s Office began using the technology, they gave us a demonstration.
If someone wearing the radio frequency transmitter disappears from family or friends, deputies can immediately begin searching for the person through the use of a radio frequency receiver.
From the air, its chirp can be heard from as far a seven miles away. On the ground, trained search parties can pick up a signal within a mile or two. The louder the ‘chirp’ the closer they are to the bracelet.
ENROLL HERE: in Fort Bend County's Project Lifesaver Program
“So we can find them, on average, less than 30 minutes,” said Michael Kahlenberg who leads the Project Lifesaver program in Fort Bend County. He’s training more deputies and Katy ISD police to help track.
“We know there’s a need,” said Kahlenberg. “And if we have the capabilities and the tools, let’s use them.”
Donations from The George Foundation, which invests in Fort Bend County, will cover a family’s cost of the bracelet, which costs about $400.
It can only be removed if cut with scissors.