Project aims at finding missing adults, children

A ‘wanderer’s report’ provided by the sheriff’s department lists pertinent information.

YOUNGSTOWN — Children can get lost in their own neighborhoods, as can adults with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

“We don’t look for the person, we look for the clues,” said Ronald S. Wisbith, U.S. SARR Corps regional director. “We check for direction of travel that hopefully leads to the victim.”

Locally, the search and rescue/recovery corps is chartered in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The volunteer group provides law enforcement a support system to find adults with memory problems and abducted or missing children.

Sheriff Randall A. Wellington announced his department’s Project Search and Recovery at a news conference Monday. The program includes U.S. SARR, the sheriff’s Senior Services Unit and dive team.

Those who need the service can call (866) 387-7277. The number is answered round-the-clock.

Wellington said the program provides a structured process for finding the young and the old. For the elderly, he said it can be considered a “senior Amber Alert.”

Wisbith said it is important that senior care facilities or private homes where a senior with dementia or Alzheimer’s lives know how to respond in the event someone goes missing. If an elderly person is not found in 12 to 24 hours they may not be found alive, he said.

A search, Wisbith said, is an emergency that requires trained personnel. He’s seen situations where hundreds of volunteers show up for a search but don’t know how to search.

Anyone interested in becoming a trained searcher can call Wisbith at (412) 303-5650. The training is 440 hours spread over two years.

If the search area turns out to be a crime scene, trained personnel know how to protect the scene, Wisbith said.

For adults with memory loss, a “wanderer’s report” provided by the sheriff’s department that lists pertinent information about the person is essential, Wisbith said. The form has space for name, description, contact information, physical health and so forth. If the person goes missing, the form can be completed with clothing worn when last seen and dementia disability assessment.

Capt. Bill Hack Sr., head of the dive team, said many senior care facilities have ponds or other bodies of water. He said the sooner his divers are called in to search for a missing person, the better.

“The only thing that stops us is lightning,” Hack said.

Kay Lavelle, head of the seniors’ unit, said the search/recovery program is an all-volunteer effort with no cost to taxpayers. She wasn’t able to say how many seniors with Alzheimer’s live in local care facilities who may need the service at some point or how many have gone missing in recent years.

Some care facilities, Lavelle said, are initially hesitant to call law enforcement when a resident goes missing and Project Search and Recovery is a good first responder. She said the group can contact police if the person is not found in 15 minutes.

Lavelle said the sheriff’s department will, in the coming days, make all jurisdictions in Mahoning County aware of Project Search and Recovery.