Tracking program for those who wander

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) - A resident wanders off from a nursing home, a child disappears. When someone is missing and the minutes turn into hours, it is an agonizing time for a family. Now there is a new device for tracking people.

10-year-old Sawyer Aston has autism, is non-verbal, and likes to run free. That's one of his parents' biggest fears.

"As the parent of a special needs child, one of your biggest concerns is always the wandering of your child. If my son gets away from me, he can't call for help," said David Aston, Sawyer's father. 

"Their propensity to wander or escape is quite high. 92 percent of children with autism are expected to bolt if they have an opportunity," said Kathy Buncz from Summit Educational Resources .

That's why David Aston founded Project Lifesaver Western New York . His foundation donated Thursday two monitoring devices to the Erie County Sheriff's Office, which held a demonstration to showcase the life saving technology.

Sawyer wears an ankle bracelet with a unique radio frequency. If he gets lost, the special monitoring equipment can find him by locating his radio frequency up to a mile away on the ground.

Up to five miles away from the Air One Sheriff's Helicopter.

"In the 25 years that I've been flying we've been called out constantly for Alzheimer's and autistic children and stuff and this will just enhance our capabilities tremendously," said Air One Pilot Captain Kevin Caffery.

"If you're within a mile and you start hearing that chirp, you know you've got him because they're somewhere within that area and it's just a matter of time," said David Aston.

Most people are found within 30 minutes. It's not just for special needs children. The bracelets can also be worn by Alzheimer's' patients or people with dementia.

Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard said, "If we're notified that there's an individual, and there's a need for the monitoring equipment, we'll be only too pleased to make it available anywhere in western New York."

Each transmitter costs $300.   

Check out attached link for more information on Project Life Saver . You can also call 374-0090 for more information.