How a tracking device helped locate a missing P.E.I. senior in minutes

Project Lifesaver P.E.I. had its first "save" this month since setting up on the Island nearly 10 years ago.

The international non-profit provides battery-operated tracking bracelets to people who are prone to wandering, such as people with autism, a mental disability or dementia.

"We actually located someone and made a difference in someone's life. It was huge," said Tammy Ferguson, president of Project Lifesaver P.E.I.

A woman with dementia from the Souris area left her home for a walk but didn't return when she was supposed to, prompting the deployment of PEI Ground Search and Rescue — an emergency response team that works with the non-profit.

Thanks to a Project Lifesaver P.E.I. radio transmission tracking device, she was found unharmed in a shed only 13 minutes later. Without a bracelet, Ferguson said the search could have taken hours, possibly longer.

'This was quite a celebration'

Since receiving its tracking equipment in 2013 Project Lifesaver P.E.I. has received calls for missing clients who have usually been found before an emergency response team could arrive.

When the Souris woman was successfully found, Ferguson said it was a celebration of firsts for the team.

"This is quite exciting because we got called out for a senior who's been with our program for almost a year," she said.

Ferguson said it is validating to see that the technology does work.

It's a lot of work to maintain emergency response training and pay monthly visits to clients for battery changes, she said, but the work is with it, even if it saves just one life.

The safety of loved ones who may wander is a huge worry for caregivers, she said, because clients often don't know they're in danger which adds to the risk.

"It only takes a second for a loved one to go missing, especially if they're a child and they're quick and they can escape from you," she said.

Project Lifesaver P.E.I. has about 57 clients across the Island, with six new clients in the last few months.

The organization has been busy and Ferguson hopes the word gets out about the tracking device so its emergency response team can support more families on the Island.

"We brought this loved one home and we were so excited and so happy to be there to help," she said.

"All the fundraising that we've had to do and all the work it took to get here ... is all worth it."