In Orange County, Florida, UAS will be used to locate people with a cognitive disease if they wander away from home or a facility.

A pilot program is being spearheaded by state Sen. Linda Stewart, and $75,000 of state money will be used to launch the initiative.

“This technology will help find people much faster than by foot, by car, even a motorcycle,” Stewart says via the Orlando Sentinel.

In Tallahassee, Florida, Stewart also led the charge there to get the program funded. Stewart began pushing for the program after learning that a half-million people with Alzheimer’s were reported missing in Florida in 2017.

The technology for the program is being provided by Project Lifesaver, which is a “community based, public safety, non-profit organization that provides law enforcement, fire/rescue, and caregivers with a program designed to protect, and when necessary, quickly locate individuals with cognitive disorders who are prone to the life threatening behavior of wandering,” according to the organization’s website.

Project Lifesaver will provide tracking devices for those with cognitive disorders, and the device can be placed on a person’s foot or ankle. Deputies will work with 911 to find the person using a frequency emitted from the device.

The transmitter costs $325, but exceptions can be made for those who can’t afford them. The seed money will be used to purchase a UAS and the training required involving two deputies.

“I think it’s a lifesaver there is no way around it,” Stewart says. “Not only that but the desperation that families feel when their loved ones who have autism or Alzheimer’s --- they’re not in house, not where they’re supposed to be.

“What do you do then? You panic. What we’ve had to do is call deputies and have them circle around in their cars. With this device, we can find them almost immediately.”

The hope is to extend the program across the state of Florida by next year.