Project Lifesaver helps Hanover deputies quickly find missing child
VENN
HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Mechanicsville family is crediting Hanover deputies, and life-saving technology for helping to locate an 8-year-old boy with nonverbal autism who wandered away from home.
On Friday, April 3, panic set in for Sharon Bunger after she learned that her grandson was missing. She said it was her husband who called to let her know that the child was nowhere to be found.
Bunger did not want to share her grandson's name, but said he had nonverbal autism and is prone to wandering, so she understood the importance of acting quickly.
“My daughter and her husband had taught us: don’t wait," she said. "If, for some reason, he elopes -- which he has a tendency to elope -- don’t wait. Call 911 as soon as possible."
The child is enrolled in Project Lifesaver, a program designed to help law enforcement locate people with cognitive conditions. It was founded in Chesapeake, Virginia in 1999 and has since been a helpful resource for agencies worldwide.
Sergeant Troy Payne shows transmitter wristband worn by clients in the Project Lifesaver program. (Photo: 8News)
Sergeant Troy Payne, commanding officer of Hanover's Project Lifesavers team, said the program has been implemented in Hanover County for over 20 years, and currently serves around 120 families.
"Most of our clientele in the program, on the younger spectrum of ages, have Down syndrome, Alzheimer's, or a traumatic brain injury," he explained. "They tend to elope or wander. We also serve clients on the older age of the spectrum of life, with Alzheimer's and dementia, that also tend to wander."
Through the program, participants receive a small transmitter, which is worn on a wrist or ankle. When someone goes missing, trained deputies use specialized receivers to track the signal.
“Responding to calls like this, time is of the essence," said Deputy Joel Cumber of the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. "It’s not on our side."
Receiver used in the Project Lifesaver program. (Photo: 8News)
Deputy Cumber is one of more than a dozen deputies trained to respond to such incidents. He said Friday marked his first time putting that training into action.
“Typically, children with autism -- they tell us all the time that they’re attracted to the water, through training and everything,” Cumber said.
Cumber said deputies used this knowledge to narrow their search and track the child's transmitter signal to a swampy area in Mechanicsville, about two miles away from his grandparents' home.
Deputies said that, within 23 minutes of beginning the search, the child was found near the water, unclothed and unharmed.
“The officer walked in my front door and said, ‘We’ve got him!’ And the relief was just … inexplicable,” Bunger said.
She said she fears what might have happened if deputies had not reached him so quickly.
“He could have gotten into water and something tragic could have happened," Bunger said. "So I try not to think about that."
Payne said the equipment used in Project Lifesaver is costly.
"Our transmitters run about $400 a piece, and our receivers go for about $1,300 each," he said.
However, the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is able to offer the program to families at no charge, thanks to community donations.
"We're able to offset that cost because we have very generous donations from civic organizations like, the Rotary Clubs, a lot of churches in the area, also families that have been touched by the program where their loved one, may have been rescued," Payne said.
The rescue also serves as a reminder during Autism Acceptance Month of the importance of community resources that help keep individuals with autism safe. In gratitude, Bunger visited the sheriff’s office on Thursday, April 9, to thank the deputies involved in the rescue and to make a donation to support the program.
“I think the Hanover Sheriff's Department deserves to be thanked and appreciated," she said. "And, the community needs to know how valuable they are to us and how valuable this program is. I cannot encourage families enough to seek out their Project Lifesaver programs in their communities."
To enroll a loved one in Hanover's Project Lifesaver program, or donate to the sheriff's office, contact them at 804-365-6268. To find a Project Lifesaver member agency near you, visit the organization's website here.
