Sheriff Noel E. Stephen is proud of his team and our shared vision for the betterment of Okeechobee, our fellow residents, and visitors.
One such product he has brought to our community is Project Life Saver.
Recently, I took Deputies Skylar Casian and Tony Hull up to become instructors for P.L.S. and they both have gone to work immediately.
Please see the message below. This young man's actions and determination to help make this program successful are extraordinary.
If you or someone you know has a child, adult, or senior who tends to wander due to autism or any cognitive disease, don't hesitate to contact one of us about this program.
Corporal Nash - Community Liaison & PIO
From Deputy Skylar Casian:
Project Lifesaver was created to help bring loved ones home. Project Lifesaver is designed for individuals with developmental disabilities such as autism, down syndrome, etc., who wander and get lost frequently.
As of 1994, Project Lifesaver has a 100% success rate in locating individuals wearing transmitters (fancy word for tracker). With this system in place, the average time for a search is down to approximately 30 minutes. Traditional searches last, on average, eight hours or longer. The use of K9 teams is tremendous but subject to weather conditions—these work, even when submerged or inside a building.
It works by having transmitters placed onto bands, much like a small watch on the wrist or ankle of the person monitored, and cannot be removed without being cut off. The transmitters give off a radio frequency we can detect with a mobile device.
The transmitters have a battery life of 60-90 days, and we can either come on-site or meet at the Sheriff's Office for the battery exchange.
If there are any circumstances where the transmitter is not working, becomes damaged, or is cut off, you call the Sheriff's Office, and we come out and provide the repairs or replacements at no cost to you.
Deputies, such as myself, certified to use the equipment, are also trained to interact with individuals with autism and dementia and can assist you in making contacts such as FAU-Autism or the South Florida Alzheimers Society that may benefit your family with support services.
We also gather as much information about the individual as possible, such as:
- Things that upset them
- Things that make them happy.
- Things to calm them.
- Very detailed description of the subject in case they do wander.
The best part about this program is that there is no cost in Okeechobee County for signing up and being a part of it. The mission is to help keep your loved one safe.
If you are interested or want additional information feel free to email or call Corporal Jack Nash at Jnash@okeesheriff.com, 863-763-3117 Ext 5018.
Also, feel free to email me if you have any additional questions.
Kind regards,
Deputy Sheriff Casian #708
Scasian@okeesheriff.com
Original source can be found here.
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