PROJECT LIFESAVER INDIANAPOLIS

WAYNE TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT, PERRY TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT, LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT, CITY OF LAWRENCE FIRE DEPARTMENT, FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT

PROJECT LIFESAVER INDY GETS FIRST RESCUE
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A 13-year-old autistic boy is safely home again after he ran away from his house on the east side. The incident was the first time local search and rescue crews were able to use a new locating device. They said the tool -- called Project Lifesaver -- worked just as it was supposed to. Paul and Letha McNeely said their son Jacob is prone to running away. It happened again Sunday night around 5:25. "He didn't have his coat on and it scared me to death. I thought, 'Man, it's cold out there.' It was really cold last night," said Letha. Jacob said his legs took him running away. "A thought came in my legs. I tried to stop them but they wouldn't listen to me," said Jacob. The good news in the midst of a frightening ordeal was that they had become part of something called Project Lifesaver.

Forty-five minutes after they got the call, searchers found Jacob at the corner of Sherman and New York. He was a mile away from home."There were so many policemen and so many fire trucks out here trying to look for him, but it was Project Lifesaver that did it," said Letha.

A mobile unit from Project Lifesaver Indy affiliate Castleton/Lawrence Township Fire Department detected the signal tracking from their mobile unit. Jake was thn spotted a short distance away. Units from The Indianapolis Fire Department Search and Rescue team, Wayne Township Search and Rescue Team, Lawrence Twp Fire / Castleton FD Project Lifesaver Strike Team and the Indianapolis Metro Police Department all participated in the search

PROJECT LIFESAVER INTERNATIONAL 2009 CONFERENCE
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
July 13-17

Conference Information will be released on January 15th

What is Project Lifesaver?

Project Lifesaver is an innovative and rapidly growing program aiding the victims and families suffering Alzheimer's Disease and related disorders such as Down's Syndrome and Autism. Project Lifesaver uses state-of-the-art technology employing wristband transmitters to locate wandering and lost adults and children.

Over 5,000,000 people in the USA have Alzheimer's. That number will triple by 2050. Well over 50% of these people wander and become lost. A lost person with Alzheimer's or other dementia represents a critical emergency as nearly half of them will die and many can become injured or fall victim to predators if they are not located within 24 hours. The number of people, families and communities experiencing this risk will grow dramatically in this decade.

Autism (sometimes called “classical autism”) is the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. Other ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). It is estimated that 1 in ever 160 children will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.

If you are not yet touched in some way by Alzheimer's or Autism or other related disorders, chances are you will be within the next several years. You will find it among neighbors, your friends, co-workers and their families, and perhaps within your own family.

How Project Lifesaver Works

Project Lifesaver is much more than a passive ID bracelet. It is an active system that relies on state-of-the-art technology and a specially trained search and rescue team. People who are part of the Project Lifesaver program wear a personalized bracelet that emits a tracking signal. When caregivers notify the local Project Lifesaver agency that the person is missing, a search and rescue team responds to the wanderer's area and starts searching with the mobile locater tracking system.. Search times have been reduced from hours and days to minutes. In hundreds of searches, there have been no reported serious injuries or deaths. Recovery times average less than 30 minutes.

The Bracelet

It is a one-ounce battery-operated radio wrist transmitter emitting an automatic tracking signal every second, 24 hours a day. The signal is tracked on the ground or in the air over several miles. As each bracelet has a unique radio frequency, the Project Lifesaver search team positively locates and identifies the person who has wandered away from home or a care facility.

Project Lifesaver Indianapolis

In May 2005 a 7-year-old with Autism, drowned in a Southeastside pond after he wandered away from a cookout a few houses down from his home. Following this tragedy the Perry Township Fire Department and the Marion County Triad started the process of bringing Project Lifesaver to Indianapolis. Following the establishment of the program in Perry Township the program has grown and now serves the Cities of Indianapolis & Lawrence in Marion County.

Project Lifesaver Indianapolis operates off of individual, corporate donations and fundraisers. Each transmitter cost $300. It takes another $90 a year to maintain the transmitter with replacement wrist bands and batteries. Project Lifesaver offers each family the transmitter and the service for free. Project Lifesaver Indianapolis utilizes the 501c3 nonprofit status of the Wayne Township Fire Department Inc for donations.

Donations to Project Lifesaver Indianapolis should be sent to:

Project Lifesaver Indianapolis
c/o Wayne Township Fire Department Inc.
700 N High School Rd
Indianapolis, Indiana 46214

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Project Lifesaver International

815 Battlefield Blvd. S.

Chesapeake, VA 23322

580-LIFE (5433)