The growing risk of going missing
When it comes to search and rescue operations, the popular image is of helicopters heading off into the mountains, or those on the ground scouring the bush for lost trampers.
But one in four police-led search and rescue operations nationally involve looking for people with cognitive impairments.
Currently, 70,000 people in the country live with dementia, a figure that’s set to triple by 2050, and six out of 10 of them will wander.
Those statistics are expected to place a strain on search and rescue operations around the country, but there are some, such as local Land Search and Rescue volunteer Graham Pomeroy, who are passionate about promoting proactive approaches to safety.
Pomeroy, the former board chairperson of Rapa Taiwhenua New Zealand Land Search and Rescue, has dedicated 46 years to the organisation, and has seen first-hand the impact on families when their loved ones go missing.
He’s found people in bus shelters, parks, cemeteries, and churches, or heading back to their old houses. In the case of elderly people, they often wander unnoticed in a way that an unaccompanied 3-year-old never would, he said.
Using gold cards, they were able to travel long distances on buses.
In Nelson, this type of search was on the rise, Pomeroy said, as more elderly people were living at home for longer, and because the ageing population itself was growing.
Dropping people back home and stopping in for a cup of tea, he said he often saw “lots of tears, and lots of anger”.
“Because some people just can’t cope.”
The challenge for urban rescues, he said, was having people around, as often it would be night-time by the time they were called in, and more than likely dark.
Because someone could be in a household yard, they’d be knocking on doors, “which is not that nice in the middle of the night”, he said.
He urged those who had family members who were missing to be proactive and call the police earlier rather than later, as it was much easier to find people at 2pm than 2am.
The record for his shortest search was five minutes ‒ thanks to the help of a WanderSearch device, which were small, robust radio-frequency signal transmitters worn by people at risk of going missing.
The device had been successfully used for over a decade, saving huge numbers of lives.
Currently, Land Search and Rescue was developing a new system of how to obtain a WanderSearch device, to make it free around the country.
“It’s a bit outside of what we do,” Pomeroy said. “But what we would be doing is looking for a lot longer if we didn’t have this.”
He also advocated for families to fill out Safer Walking Profiles, a form detailing their loved ones’ physical descriptions, and medical and life histories.
Fortunately, when it came to keeping track of those who could wander because of dementia, neurodivergence or disability, technology had evolved and could be a great help.
Devices ranged from virtual “invisible” Geofences that alerted caregivers when people wandered out of boundary, pressure mats that triggered alarms when stepped on, to doorbells that sounded when the door opened, alongside other equipment such as AirTags, apps, PLBs and MedicAlert bracelets.
Contact details and information on a range of technologies, including WanderSearch, can be found on the Safer Walking website at saferwalking.nz.
By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail
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