A new video from York Region Police shows officers using a tracking bracelet to find a missing man.
The aerial photo was taken from a York Regional Police helicopter as officers tracked signals from the 69-year-old man's bracelet, which he received as part of an international program called Project Lifesaver.
In the video, an officer can be heard saying, “FYI, Project Lifesaver is being activated…” as he directs officers in a patrol car toward a TTC bus near the intersection of Finch Avenue and McCowan Road.
“Strong signal on this bus. Check this bus,” the officer says.
Moments later, another officer replies, “Got him.”
“Let’s go!” shouts another officer.
The missing man was wearing a Project Lifesaver bracelet that emits a tracking signal so that police, firefighters, emergency services and nursing staff can quickly find people at risk if necessary.
A number of GTA police departments are part of Project Lifesaver, including York, Halton and Peel.
Since its inception in 1999, the program has helped find over 4,000 people.
Speaking to CP24 on Friday, Sergeant Andy Pattenden said there are over 50 registered program participants in York Region.
“[Participants] are fitted with one of these bracelets that need to be serviced fairly regularly, but once they go missing, once we get the call that they're missing, we can extend the antennas across the region and try to find out where the person has gone,” Pattenden said.
In this case, the man had walked 12 kilometers from where he was last seen, so the use of the helicopter in addition to ground crews was of utmost importance, he said.
Earlier this week, another Toronto-area senior went missing for more than two days before being discovered by a school crossing guard in Leslieville on Thursday afternoon.
Toronto police also used the technology in their search for him. He was captured on video walking outside about 20 kilometres from his home in North York.
Pattenden said time is of the essence in missing persons cases and advises getting bracelets for family members and loved ones who are considered at-risk.
“I definitely encourage everyone in York Region to check out the program, get involved and connect their loved ones with one of these bracelets so that if they leave their location, we can actually track them down because in extreme weather, time is of the essence,” he said. “With these bracelets and the ability to track them, every minute counts and this program actually saves lives.”
Comments are closed.