By Sandy James
Review Staff Writer
Published: April 10, 2008

Orange County’s Project Lifesaver was put to work Sunday morning, when an 80-year-old Alzheimer’s patient was reported missing in Gordonsville.
This was the first opportunity to utilize the equipment, consisting of radio signal emitting bracelets and trackers, since it was put in place in 2005.
The 40-degree temperatures and intermittent rain were immediate causes for concern, and the search began outdoors.
Captain Randy Burnett, deputy William Hayes and deputy Becky Mardeusz of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, officer David Strong and officer Roger Honeycutt of the Town of Gordonsville Police Department and investigator Evans Oakerson, officer James Crickenberger and officer Adrienne Settle from the Town of Orange Police Department joined Project Lifesaver coordinator Elaine Anderson in the search.
Orange County communications supervisor Theresa Burruss received the call at 8:19 a.m.
Officer Strong was the first on the scene with search equipment at 8:23 a.m. Anderson arrived next.
Strong said the radio signal, emitted by the Project Lifesaver bracelet, indicated the patient was inside the two-story, multi-apartment building.
The other team members arrived and the search moved inside, where the signal showed the man on the second floor.
The man was found, lying on a bed in an empty locked apartment (not his), approximately 500 yards from where he was last seen, and was not in distress.
“Officer Strong did a great job. He was on the scene in less than five minutes and showed us how well this system can work,” said Anderson.
Anderson is proud of the dedication of the entire team and was impressed with the team’s speed of deployment and level of communication.
Anderson is also proud of the Project Lifesaver equipment.
“We got a really strong signal all the way to the apartment, which is not always the case in an indoor search,” she said.
Project Lifesaver is administered locally by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and TRIAD.
For information on Project Lifesaver call Anderson at 672-1536