North Bay police use locator tool to find missing woman with dementia

When a woman in her 90s with dementia went missing from her assisted living facility, North Bay police were able to find her quickly using a locator tool.

Project Lifesaver is being credited with the woman's safe return within 45 minutes of wandering away, police said in a news release Wednesday.

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North Bay Police Service and BAYSAR Air Search and Rescue were alerted about the missing woman around 11:30 a.m. July 8.

Because she was equipped with a Project Lifesaver locator, police were able to get a signal for the device at 12:07 p.m. and a BAYSAR member found her safe by 12:15 p.m.

"In total, it took approximately 45 minutes to safely locate the missing person from the time she was reported missing to police," police said.

"Project Lifesaver works by providing clients with a small radio transmitter worn on their ankle or wrist. Each transmitter transmits a unique radio frequency pulse once per second, 24 hours a day. Properly maintained, the transmitter is waterproof for showers, bathing, and swimming."

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The North Bay project began in November 2020 to help find adults and children with cognitive conditions such as dementia, autism spectrum disorder, down syndrome or acquired brain injury and a propensity to wander.

"This is another excellent example showing just how valuable a tool Project Lifesaver is for police. Thanks to Project Lifesaver and our partners at BAYSAR, we are able to quickly locate vulnerable people who have been reported lost or missing in our community," said North Bay Police Insp. of operations, Jeff Warner.

"I encourage anyone with a vulnerable family member or loved one who could go missing to join Project Lifesaver as soon as you can."

Anyone interested in the program can get a referral through the Alzheimer Society, One Kids Place or email BAYSAR directly at [e-mail].

"This Project Lifesaver rescue is a good demonstration of best practice for integrating specially trained volunteers into police search and rescue operations," said Stan French, president of BAYSAR.

"North Bay can be justifiably proud of how the NBPS have effectively utilized the Project Lifesaver technology in combination with the volunteers of BAYSAR. This was a real team effort."