(Radio Iowa) – A program in Sioux City provides families a way to track “at risk” members. Project Lifesaver is offered by police and the Woodbury County Sheriff provide a tracking system for those who are prone to the life threatening behavior of wandering due to Autism, Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia or other conditions. Shana Michalski’s son Trey is non-verbal and has had a monitor since 2010. She says it provides peace of mind for her family. “Because if anything were to happen and we couldn’t find him, Trey’s not going to respond to his name. He’s not going to really go with anybody. He could be wandering and there’s absolutely nothing anybody could do because if you’re shouting for Trey, he’s not going to say, ‘I’m here, I’m here’, “she says. She says it has been a concern for some time.

“He did have some issues when he was a lot younger, where he didn’t like where he was at, so he’d up and go,” she says. Those enrolled in the program wear a transmitter on their ankle or wrist that emits a unique radio signal that officers and deputies can pick up with a transmitter. Emily Myers’ 13-year-old Zoey is also on the spectrum and she says Zoey is verbal, but prone to talking to people while not recognizing potentially dangerous situations.”One of the things that we have found is that the thing that causes you to sense that there’s danger or that someone is a dangerous person is not there,” Myers says. “And so when we get into a situation where we feel like we want to go off somewhere, there’s a concern that maybe we would go with someone we shouldn’t go with.”

Officers say search times have been drastically reduced from hours to minutes with Project Lifesaver.