Oregon hams locate missing dementia patient

Members of the Lane County Sheriffs Amateur Radio Operators, an ARRL Affiliated Club, are being credited with the rescue of an elderly  Eugene, Oregon man.

The 78 year old dementia patient's wife reported that he had wandered away from his home east of the University of Oregon Campus.  The Lane County Sheriff's Department has a team of ham operators who are specially trained in Radio Direction Finding (RDF) search procedures.

Dubbed Project LifeSaver, at risk individuals wear special RF bracelets.  Should a person go missing, the LCSARO team members use their special tracking skills to safely locate the missing person.  The missing man was one of six people in the Lane County program.

The missing man was located on the corner of Eight Avenue and Willamette Street, in downtown Eugene.  He was not injured.

The mission of Project Lifesaver is to provide timely response to save lives and reduce potential injury for adults and children who wander due to Alzheimer’s, autism, and other related conditions or disorders.

The team of ham radio operators reduces the need for large scale search parties, which typically involve many agencies, hundreds of police officers, and thousands of dollars in costs.

The LCSARO also provides communications in disasters and other emergency situations for the Sheriff's Department.

Nevada Amateur Radio Newswire - http://www.nevadahamradio.com/