Saskatoon police foundation run to support missing persons tech

This winter, two people in Saskatoon lost their lives after wandering away from home. This weekend, the Saskatoon Police Service Foundation is lacing up its sneakers to make sure it doesn't happen again.

The foundation is holding a half-marathon in support of Project Lifesaver, a system that tracks radio-locator armbands worn by vulnerable people prone to getting lost.

• Wandering dementia patients could be located faster in Saskatoon
• 'Fiercely independent' Saskatoon senior found dead

"It's the cases that hit the media, where there's a negative result or something bad has happened, where people start to really pay attention," police Sgt. Wade Bourassa told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning. "We want to do something about it."

The system is designed to find wandering people quickly, before anything bad happens to them. It also helps free up police resources that can be tied up looking for lost people.

"The resources that these searches take ... there's never enough," said Bourassa. "We've got to be smart about using those resources."

Unlike other systems that use GPS tracking, Project Lifesaver can also be used to locate people inside buildings and in heavily forested areas.

"Oftentimes, they're going to find a place that's warm," he said. "When that place closes down, you're going to wander out of there, and where are you going to be?"

The foundation is trying to raise $20,000 toward the project.

The run will be held Sunday at 8 a.m. CST. For more information, click here.