Standing in line to catch the Ferry from San Francisco back to Oakland, the caregiver did not notice that the person he had been hired to take care of, had wandered away onto the busy streets of the Embarcadero. When the caregiver remembered to put his attention back on the client who had been standing behind him (ouch!), the eighty four year old man with advanced Alzheimer’s was no where to be found. Frantically, the caregiver began running around the crowds looking, looking everywhere. No Big Guy anywhere (client psudo name). Panicked, he called the wife of Big Guy. She reminded him to follow the instruction of the PERS (Personal Emergency Response System) device – EmFinders- a card he held in his pocket just in case Big Guy goes MISSING. Big Guy had an EmSeeQ (EmFinders) bracelet on. She immediately rallied her connections in San Francisco and they hit the streets on foot. It was getting dark. EmFinders had put their U-TDOA Phase II location technology to the test. The 911 service responder picked up the caregiver at the Embarcadero and they began to wind their way through the streets following the signal location. The trouble was that they could not find him fast enough because of the crowds. It was dark now and made the search that much more difficult.
The location of Big Guy was changing quickly – he obviously was on the move. Unfortunately he happened to be in the Mission and was nearing Bay Point. The police officer was very concerned. Big Guy also wore some fine pieces of jewelry and cash in his pocket. They were not so much scared that they would not find him but there was fear that they find him before any harm was done.
Finally, the police officer’s care followed the signal into a large empty parking lot, dark and isolated. Big Guy was up against a chain link fence, holding onto to it, lost. And found. PERS technology devices are invaluable and Big Guy may never have been found without it.
