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Houghton County Sheriff’s Office begins Project Lifesaver program

Nick Wilson/Daily Mining Gazette Det. Lt. Klein (left) and Sheriff Saaranen (right) pose with 8-year-old Billy (middle) at the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office.

HOUGHTON — On Friday afternoon, Detective Lieutenant Charlie Klein attached a white bracelet bearing a small blue device to the wrist of 8-year-old Billy Rowe.

Billy and his mother Jessica were at the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office to begin participating in Project Lifesaver, a program designed to help law enforcement locate missing persons.

Project Lifesaver is intended to reduce the search time needed to find missing individuals who are prone to wandering, including those with cognitive conditions such as autism, down syndrome, and Alzheimer’s.

The watch-like device on Billy’s wrist is a radio frequency transmitter that emits a specific radio frequency. In the event that the individual goes missing, local law enforcement can use special receivers to quickly locate the transmitter and find the missing person.

Once it is attached to someone’s wrist or ankle, the weather-resistant device is worn at all times. Law enforcement must change the device’s batteries once every two months.

Under ordinary circumstances it can take hours or even days to locate a missing person. But with Project Lifesaver technology, the average rescue time is only 30 minutes. According to the organization’s website, this technology has already helped rescue over 3,800 people.

“Over the years, there have been many missing person cases in the four-county area,” said Sheriff Joshua Saaranen. “After the Ontonagon missing person case, Detective Charlie Klein here at the Sheriff’s Office started looking into the programs that are available to help at-risk youths and adults. He ended up finding Project Lifesaver.”

“He wrote a proposal, and we got a hold of the Portage Health Foundation. They were on board, and they funded the project to start off,” Saaranen continued. “So, for the first year, the Portage Health Foundation has covered the first 50 bands in Houghton County. We really want to thank them for participating and paying for the first 50.”

The Keweenaw, Ontonagon, and Baraga County Sheriff’s Departments, as well as Superior Search and Rescue, are partnered with the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office and the Portage Health Foundation to participate in the Project Lifesaver program.

Over the past few months, the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office has been preparing to launch the program. Under the direction of Det. Lt. Klein, all of the department’s deputies have trained with Project Lifesaver equipment, using the receivers to locate transmitters hidden in various outdoor locations.

Superior Search and Rescue, a Houghton-based nonprofit emergency response organization that assists law enforcement with land-based search and rescue, has also trained to use Project Lifesaver equipment.

Sheriff Saaranen said that the community has been very receptive to the program. So far, the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office has distributed transmitter bands to 11 area families, with many more expressing interest in the program.

For Jessica Rowe, knowing that her son will be wearing the Project Lifesaver transmitter brings peace of mind.

“I’m grateful that a program like this exists,” she said. “With [Billy’s] autism, he doesn’t always realize when a dangerous situation is in front of him. If he wanders off into the woods, it’s dangerous. If he’s not dressed properly, he could freeze or get hypothermia.”

“I mentioned it to his teacher and she sent me a link to sign up for this program. Just the next day, I got information from Detective Klein about it,” she continued. “The response time is extremely fast and it’s comforting to know that we have this if he happens to wander off.”

Sheriff Saaranen is hopeful that the program will be beneficial to local families.

“I think it will make the community a lot safer,” he said. “If at-risk individuals go missing, it’ll make the job of the Sheriff’s Office and search and rescue a lot easier and more efficient to be able to locate these individuals a lot quicker.”

Individuals interested in supporting the program are encouraged to donate to the Portage Health Foundation for Project Lifesaver. Families with an at-risk loved one who are interested in receiving a transmitter should contact their local sheriff’s department or visit phfgive.org/projectlifesaver.

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