KAMAS, Utah (ABC 4 News) - We have results to a story we first brought you in March. Justin Bailey has autism, and has wandered away from home several times. ABC 4 took action to get him a tracking bracelet. Now, if he strays again, officers should be able to find him within minutes.
Summit County Sheriffs have been training with Project Lifesaver for two days, learning what the equipment is, and how to use it. On Friday, they put their training to the test. Their goal was to find a transmitter that was hidden somewhere in Kamas.
The crew drove around monitoring the signal strength on their receiver. After a few wrong turns they narrowed their search. Then it's time for the hand-held directional receiver which led them inside a gas station. They found the transmitter in about 15 minutes, and had it been a real situation they would have found a missing person.
Detective Austin Turner with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office says, “It gets discouraging after you spend 24, 48 hours looking for somebody and you don't see anything. This is 15 minutes and it was nice.”
The program is something the Baileys have been hoping for. Justin is a perfect candidate for a Project Lifesaver tracking bracelet and now he's the first Summit County resident to get one.
The program isn't just for people with autism, but anyone who tends to wander like people with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and even young children.
If you have a friend or family member who may want to be involved with Project Lifesaver, call the
Summit County Sheriff’s Office at (435) 615-3600.
