Project Lifesaver

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Project Lifesaver International is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation founded in April of 1999 through the Chesapeake Virginia Sheriff's Office. The organization was formed to develop a comprehensive program to enhance success at locating missing persons with dementia, Alzheimer's disease, autism, Down syndrome and other related illnesses. The program involves a pro-active approach to identifying at-risk persons of wandering and attaching a radio transmitter device to their wrist or ankle by way of a plastic or nylon wristband. The battery operated transmitter emits an inaudible pulse frequency once per second that can be picked up by a special receiver operated by trained public safety officers.

Project Lifesaver Headquarters in Chesapeake Virginia provides training for public safety agencies across the United States. The agency starts their own Project Lifesaver program in their community and manages their "at-risk client base" by enrolling persons and changing the batteries each month.

The equipment used by Project Lifesaver is manufactured by Locator Systems Corporation in Victoria, BC Canada, a unit of LoJack, Inc.

Project Lifesaver is the most reliable search and rescue program in North America. As of April 2008, over 1,650 persons nationwide have been located successfully and uninjured in an average time of less than 30 minutes using only two to three public safety responders. The program has proved to be the nations most successful system of locating persons missing due to dementia, Alzheimer's disease, autism, and other related illnesses, saving time, manpower and money.

The program is now in over 700 agencies covering 43 states and in two provinces in Canada. Its rapid growth is attributed to its success in lifesaving recoveries, as well as, being a money saver for taxpayers. Another factor is that this program was founded and is being administered by active and retired law enforcement officers, familiar with what it takes to search for missing persons.