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Source: The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, IowaNov.迷你倉 07--The first time it happened, the Hans0ns were in New Zealand.The Cedar Rapids couple had just arrived in Wellington to do some sight-seeing when Bob Hanson stepped into a store to pick up some supplies for the couple's hotel room. He thought his wife, Beverly, was waiting outside, but when he returned, she was nowhere to be found.After nearly two hours of searching, someone dropped her off at the police station. She had wandered nearly two and a half-miles from the shop, to a marina."Bev stuck to me like glue after that, and that was my first indication something was wrong," Hanson said.Later that year, Beverly Hanson was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease."From that point forward, I kept Bev here at home in our condo on the southwest side," said Hanson, adding he was lucky to have the help of a group of retired nurses in his neighborhood so he could continue working in real estate.Soon after Hanson's wife, now 85, began having wandering tendencies, doctors recommended she be placed in a secure facility so she couldn't be a danger to herself. Today Beverly lives at the Hallmar Residential Care facility at the Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, where her husband visits her to have dinner and play cards every night.But not all wandering cases turn out the way Beverly's did. Sometimes, those loved ones don't make it home.WanderingAccording to the Alzheimer's Association, six in 10 people with dementia wander.Abbey Miller, coordinator of programs and communications for the East Central Iowa Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, said wandering is common among people with dementia or other cognitive disorders, and it typically happens out of boredom when someone with dementia becomes confused.It also frequently happens at night because some don't understand what it means when it gets dark and they feel they need to go somewhere."It's a big fear for caregivers and loved ones who have someone with Alzheimer's disease. Not everybody wanders, but those who do -- you just never know what's going to happen," Miller said.She said the tendency can make simple tasks -- such as taking a shower or running to the store -- stressful for caregivers because a loved one could walk off whenever their attention is temporarily turned to something else.According to the Alzheimer's Association, 16,000 Eastern Iowans suffer from Alzheimer's disease or some kind of dementia.Law EnforcementThe Cedar Rapids police department has taken 33 missing adult reports since the beginning of the year. Five of those reports involved adults between 60 and 100 years old and at least one of those people suffered from dementia.When a person considered at-risk goes missing, the department takes a missing persons report, asks the family for a photo and issues an Operation Quickfind, notifying police officers and the media to keep an eye out for the missing person, Cedar Rapids police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said. The information is also entered into a national database through the National Crime Information Center.Depending on the circumstances and clues that might give an indication to where the person might be headed, Hamblin said the department begins searching.Though the technology and manpower used depends on the situation, Hamblin said she recalls at least one instance when law enforcement searched through the night to find an elderly woman who wandered out of a facility. On another occasion several years ago, the department used it's now-defunct helicopter program with infrared technology to locate an elderly man in a cornfield.She said the department also traces purchases and cell phone GPS systems in extenuating circumstances -- but those with cognitive disabilities don't always carry cell phones and credit cards.But Hamblin said she thinks the system Cedar Rapids has in place for finding missing persons is working. Some Cedar Rapids police officers have gone through training on how to interact with individuals with cognitive disabilities, she added."We're doing the best we can, but if you would ask a loved one if we are doing enough, no, we could never do enough," Hamblin said. "Especially iself storage it turns out badly."No one with Alzheimer's, dementia, autism or another special need has died because the department hasn't been able to find them, Hamblin said. Only four of the department's missing person cases have gone unsolved.The Iowa City Police Department and Johnson County Sheriff's office respond in a similar manner -- taking a report immediately and saturating the area with available officers to help look for the person, depending on whether they left in a car or on foot and how long they've been gone."I think every case is different," said Capt. Joe Lalla, with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. "Each case you just take on a case-by-case basis, and you work on it that way and see where it leads you."Though local agencies said missing person cases involving those with cognitive disabilities are relatively infrequent, a long-term search would have costs associated with it to pay for manpower, fuel and meals if officers were working overtime.SolutionsTo deal with wandering, some law enforcement agencies across the country have partnered with Project Lifesaver, a not-for-profit organization that trains departments, for a fee, on how to effectively communicate with and rescue people with cognitive disorders using tracking equipment.Project Lifesaver allows caregivers to register their loved one with the program in their area by filling out a profile and having that person wear a radio frequency identification band. The RFID bracelet only is activated if the person is reported to have gone missing.Elizabeth Kappes, Project Lifesaver's director of media and communications, said the organization was founded in 1999 when CEO Gene Saunders was working for the Chesapeake Police Department in Virginia, and realized the department was spending a lot of time and resources on locating people with cognitive disabilities and the subjects weren't always making it home.Since then, the program -- which has been adopted by several agencies in Iowa -- has successfully rescued 2,753 people.The Iowa City Police Department, which has responded to 107 missing adult reports since Jan. 1, 2012, is able to take notes on specific addresses through its computer-aided dispatch system.Iowa City police Sgt. Vicki Lalla said the department often comes in contact with people who have wandered before they've been reported missing. In that scenario, she said the responding officer often will enter the person's name into the system with his or her address.Then, if that person wanders off again, a responding officer will know where home is. If a caregiver is worried about wandering, Lalla said he or she can call the department to ask that a note be put in the system.Many facilities -- such as the one where Beverly Hanson lives -- have measures in place to prevent residents from wandering away. Bob Hanson said his wife and others with wandering tendencies at Hallmar wear a security ankle bracelet to help staff keep track of who's coming and who's going.The Iowa Department of Public Safety also set up a structured Endangered Person Advisory (EPA) system in 2010, in which the responding agency can enter an endangered missing person's information into a statewide database for missing people.The system also helps get the word out to local communities and the media so the public knows to keep an eye out for the missing person.Wandering PreventionBecause wandering sometimes can be sparked by boredom,confusion or being in an unfamiliar place, Miller said having a daily routine helps people with wandering tendencies. Miller said there are also various medical alert and safe return programs available to caregivers that use tracking devices to locate a person if they wander.Even though Bob Hanson's wife still wanders throughout the facility from time to time, he said her structured schedule at Hallmar has helped to stabilize some of her symptoms."We still have a good time as a married couple of 43 years," Hanson said. "The lighter you make it, the easier you can deal with it."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Visit The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) at thegazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷利倉