MONROE — The call came in at 3:55 a.m. Sunday.
A Monroe woman, 74 and living with dementia, had wandered off in the middle of the night from a home in the 300 block of Kelsey Street.
Her husband contacted their daughter, who in turn called 911.
The dispatcher paged Snohomish County Search and Rescue.
Three search and rescue volunteers and a deputy sheriff found the missing woman an hour and four minutes later, thanks in large part to technology as well as a call from someone living nearby.
The woman is one of roughly 65 people in the county now wearing a Project Care Track bracelet issued by the sheriff’s office. The bracelet uses radio signals to help searchers pinpoint their whereabouts.
In the woman’s case, the device was around her ankle.
She was found in a flower bed not far from her home.
It was so dark a searcher initially walked right by her.
“It didn’t appear she had any idea whatsoever what was going on,” said sheriff’s Sgt. Danny Wikstrom, who oversees search and rescue operations. “Had it been rainy and cold this could have had a very bad outcome.”
Wikstrom has seen similar scenarios over the years: families desperately trying to keep their loved ones with dementia and Alzheimer’s at home for as long as they can. The bracelets can save invaluable time and bring quick relief, he said.
Research shows that 60 percent of Alzheimer’s patients will wander and get lost at one point or another.
Time is critical when they do roam. If not found within 24 hours, up to half will suffer injury or death, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
The bracelets are outfitted with transmitters that send out unique frequencies that can be tracked by search and rescue teams equipped with receivers that pick up the signals. The receiver beeps louder the closer it gets to the bracelet.
Clients often suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia. Many children enrolled in the program have autism or Down syndrome. There are several clients living with traumatic brain injuries.
The program costs $15 a month. Scholarships are available to those in need and search and rescue volunteers frequently replace the batteries.
Wikstrom said the number of people who can be monitored is limited, but he encourages families to learn more about the program to try to prevent future tragedies.
Earlier this summer, Ethel O’Neil, an 89-year-old Everett woman in the early stages of dementia, vanished after getting lost on a shopping trip. She didn’t have a bracelet.
She was found in her car in some blackberry bushes off a private road near Lake Stevens 28 days later. The blue 1987 Chevy Nova was wedged in brambles.
The car couldn’t be seen from the road. Nor could the property owners spot it from their house. It took the eyes of a search and rescue helicopter pilot to find her. It was too late.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
More information
To learn more about the county’s Project Care Track, go to http://snohomishcountywa.gov/313/Project-Care-Track.
To learn about making donations to support the program, call 425-388-3825.
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