By George Slaughter
Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan poses with deputies involved in Project Lifesaver (Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office photo)
Michael Kahlenberg tells the story of his 85-year-old great uncle who went missing a few years ago. Tragedy struck when the man drove to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
“My wife’s great uncle drove in that direction, and he never made it.” Kahlenberg, senior volunteer programs director for the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, said. “He just fell off the earth, and no one knew where he was. They found him four months later, not far from where his vehicle landed in a ditch. He succumbed to the weather. I don’t want anyone to go through that, with the family not knowing where the individual is.”
In June, Fort Bend County received recertification in a program that can help in such cases. Project Lifesaver, a national program, enables authorities to find people with cognitive disabilities. Examples of this can be Alzheimer’s disease, autism or dementia.
Caregivers sign up their clients for Project Lifesaver through the sheriff’s office. Clients receive and wears a transmitter bracelet about the size of a wristwatch.
Should a client go missing, the caregiver contacts the sheriff’s department. Each bracelet has a unique frequency that deputies can use to locate the client. Kahlenberg said six sergeants on every shift are trained to use the technology. He said deputies have, on recent tests, found clients within 30 minutes.
“They have access to a receiving unit,” Kahlenberg said. “If one of those clients goes missing, then the sergeant will get a notification with name, frequency, last known location and time missing. That determines how far out they need to be able to receive a signal from that individual.”
Deputies receive signals via a mounted antenna, or a hand-held tracking device.
“The device does not track you, but it pinpoints direction,” Kahlenberg said. “It’s different from GPS. It’s a snapshot of where you were, not where you are at now.”
Kahlenberg said the program has rescued over 3,800 people nationwide.
A Project Lifesaver bracelet being attached to a client (Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office photo)
For Cynthia Reece, president of the Katy Autism Support, a 501c3 nonprofit, such a program is helpful and useful to families with children with cognitive disabilities.
“It was just something we learned about, and thought we can get behind that because so many kids on the spectrum tend to wander,” Reece said.
Reece tells the story of one such child who was being babysat but somehow got out of the house. A neighbor found the child a few blocks away walked the child home.
While this particular story had a happy ending, Reece said there are other cases that have tragic endings because families and caregivers cannot find the lost child.
“There are lots of stories like that,” Reece said, adding that in some cases, the child has communication issues and cannot tell people his or her name or address. Fortunately, law enforcement agencies have taken training on how to work with people in such cases she said.
A t-shirt honors donors to Project Lifesaver through the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office (Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office photo)
The sheriff’s office is also accepting donations to ensure that the families need not worry about paying for the transmitters, which cost approximately $360 each.
“We’re raising funds so no family would go without,” Kahlenberg said. “My goal, as long as I’m here, I’m going to keep this program going.”
Kahlenberg said Sheriff Eric Fagan and his team support Project Lifesaver.
“They have bent over backwards to make this a phenomenal initiative to save lives,” Kahlenberg said.
Reece said Kahlenberg is to be the guest speaker at the group’s October 19 meeting, which will be at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church, 20777 Kingsland Blvd.
Fort Bend County residents wishing to participate in the program are invited to email projectlifesaver@fortbendcountytx.gov or call 281-341-9262.
Harris County residents wishing to participate in the program are invited to register at the website.