When a loved one with a cognitive disorder or disability goes missing, it can strike fear in the hearts of family trying to find them. Each second a person is lost feels like an eternity.

Thanks to a new search and rescue tool, the finding time can be quicker.

The Wauwatosa Police Department and Health Department have joined Project Lifesaver, a search and rescue system to locate missing people with cognitive disabilities. 

Project Lifesaver is an international program that boasts a 100-percent success rate in rescuing people who have a cognitive disorder, such as Alzheimer’s, autism and down syndrome and people with traumatic brain injuries who have a tendency to wander. The average time for rescue with this technology is 30 minutes.

The program has a one-time charge of $350 for start up equipment and thereafter a $10 monthly fee for maintenance, such as batteries and transmitter replacements.

Wauwatosa residents enrolled in the program wear a transmitter on their wrist or ankle, which provides a frequency signal. Trained officers have a handheld locator, which can detect a person enrolled in the program up to three quarters of a mile.

An antenna goes on the top of a squad and can search 360 degrees of a quarter of a mile radius. 

Laura Laurishke, administrative support specialist with the Wauwatosa Police Department, was at a conference and heard about the program and felt the police department needed to have the tool.

She has a 25-year-old son with autism. 

Anytime a child or adult wanders away, it is devestating. Laurishke said the tool gives the opportunity to shorten the search and rescue time and alleviate some of the pain and frustration. 

Wandering can't be prevented

A mother of an autistic adult, Laurishke said wandering is not easily preventable. She explained that people with a cognitive disorder have an imbalance in the brain.

Alzheimer's patients are losing critical parts of their memory and may not remember everything going on their life, according to Laurishke. "They might go looking for a job they had years ago and not know how to get back home or ask for help," she said. 

Laurishke said she watched a film for training on handling someone with Alzheimer's who is missing. In the film an elderly man who cares for his wife, was brushing his teeth when the wife slipped out the door. He had no idea she left the house. 

"It is hard to watch someone 24 hours a day. People need to use the bathroom or take a shower and this is times when people take off," she said. 

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During training for the program, a person was given a transmitter and told to go somewhere in the city. Laurishke and others didn't know where he went but were able to find him on four different occasions within 30 minutes.

Laurishke cautioned the finding time could be effected by circumstances such as if the person jumped on a bus or getting a ride. 

"The program narrows it down to a quicker time frame," she said. 

How to enroll 

Wauwatosa residents can sign up by going to the city's website under Project Life Saver. There they can fill out a form and talk with a trained specialist to get detailed information,  such as how to approach the person, what is his or her favorite name. 

Laurishke said even if a resident doesn't enroll a loved one in the program, it is still a good idea to let the Wauwatosa Police Department know about the loved one in the event he or she goes missing.

She has had people contact the police with a picture of a loved one and information as to where they tend to wander. The information is stored at the police department's dispatch center and can be released to officers if they are looking for the loved one. 

Laurishke said  she can't make people enroll in the program, but volunteering information is a good idea. 

The police department had to raise money for the program as it wasn't a budgeted item. Laurishke is continuing to focus on speaking with different groups and clubs to see if anyone would be willing to donate. The program has its own separate account and money raised will only be used for it. 

Laurishke hopes to raise enough money to help people who can't afford to pay for the startup fee. 

Interested residents are encouraged to contact the Police Department at 414-471-8430 for more information or to visit

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