SOUTH MIAMI, Fla. – When a loved one disappears, every minute counts, and a South Florida police department is taking a groundbreaking step to protect our most vulnerable residents.
Missing people’s flyers and signs are unfortunately fairly common.
Sometimes officers find the person in hours, other times it can take day or longer.
In some cases, those who have disappeared have still not been found.
For Isabel Leon, luck has been on her side.
At her golden age of 83, Leon likes to walk around and stay active.
“She’s in pain in her knees, but that day she was running,” said Jorge Del Rio, Leon’s son.
Leon has been jokingly nicknamed Dora the Explorer because of the way she explores outside her house, but there have been at least three instances where Leon has wandered away, and in those cases, time is of the essence.
“My God, you can’t imagine, one day it was less than 10 minutes, in less than 10 minutes,” said Del Rio. “She likes to take care of some plants in the patio, sometimes she goes by herself and we looked everywhere and he didn’t find her. I didn’t have my car at the moment. I got the bicycle. Marixa got her car and we started driving all around the neighborhood and I found her three blocks from here to cross 67th Avenue and Sunset at the time. And she didn’t cross it because she didn’t have her sandals and the asphalt was very hot.”
From younger people with autism or Down syndrome to older ones like Leon who has dementia and Alzheimer’s, people who are at risk like her qualify for a new program the South Miami Police Department launched called Project Lifesaver.
“They get a bracelet that has a radio transmitter in it, and we have an apparatus that we use to track that person, the location of that person, and subsequently rescue that person,” said South Miami Sgt. Fernando Bosch.
It’s a system that helps find people in minutes.
Detective Jaqueline Del Sol described the tracking system used by Project Lifesaver.
“It’s a device that we use when someone calls in that they’ve been missing,” she said. “This is how we find the transmitter that they have on their wrist.”
Said Del Rio: “We didn’t know that they had the program by the time when we called and we found out the program is extremely perfect.”
Leon is the first participant in South Miami to wear one of the life-saving bracelets as she meets all of the requirements.
“The person that is going to be wearing the bracelet cannot grab a vehicle, they’re supposed to be supervised,” said Bosch. “A caretaker is supposed to be living with them 24/7, and the other requirement is that South Miami police goes once a month to reevaluate that individual.”
So far, four officers in South Miami are fully trained in using the apparatus that helps locate the bracelets.
“You need some kind of assurance, at least if she gets lost, professional people be looking for her, they will know how to manage the situation,” said Del Rio. “Because she’s going to be nervous.”
It’s a simple bracelet that’s providing peace of mind and a beacon of hope to those who love and care for her.
“It was exactly what I was looking for,” said Del Rio. “It was exactly what I was looking for, no less, no more.”
This program is the very first one of its kind in all of Miami-Dade County. It’s helping officers make rescues rather than recoveries.
If you live in South Miami and have someone who may benefit and qualifies for the program, you can reach out directly to the South Miami Police Department to learn more details and to register your loved one.