Project Lifesaver

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I want to tell you about a harrowing ordeal I just went thru last night with

Austin and why I'm telling you all about Project Lifesaver.

Last night (5/28) at 6:15 PM Trey (my oldest son) and Austin went outside to

play. Please keep in mind that I live on about 3-4 acres surrounded by my

in-laws, and my house sits seven tenths of a mile off our street (it's not

visible should you drive on our street). This is a very large area for both

boys to play in and most often times I don't worry too much about their playing

outside.

Last night has become the except to the rule from now on. When the boys went

to play outside, I stayed inside to fold a load of towels that were done drying

and put another load of clothes in the dryer from the washer, this took me all

of about 10 minutes to accomplish. When I had finished my task, I went outside

to sit on my swing and watch the boys play. Austin was no-where to be seen and

Trey was in the tree line/forest down in the front yard, when Trey emerged with

no Austin we both began searching for him, Trey went up the hill to my sister in

laws house as she has a swing set that Austin loves to play on and some old toys

of her kids that are left outside that he loves to play with also not too

mention their 4 dogs. No sign of him there, nor under my house (I live in a

mobile home), or under either front or back porches (lots of imaginary roads and

cities to build under those places), I told Trey to go out to his Grandma's to

see if Austin was there while I went

to get the keys for the van and drive the short distance to their house, Once

there, we saw a deputy sherriff across the street and thought nothing of it, and

a car stopped at the top of our street at the stop sign thinking that the car

was the owner of the corn field next door to me and that he was stopping to

check his mail from Saturday (his mailbox sits next to the stop sign). When the

Deputy pulled up in the drive way (after my in-laws, myself and Trey had looked

around for Austin), it was then that I realized that Austin had made it all the

way to the stop sign! With heart in throat I got into the sheriff's car (and

banged the corner of the door into my head and have the nice little " goose egg "

to prove it), and we went up to the top of the road to retrieve Austin from the

woman and her children who had seen him and stopped to pick him up and call 911.

Austin is fine, has no clue to the worry and scare he put into me last night.

After reasurrance from the deputy that CPS wouldn't be called out for an

investigation, he then informed me a program thru the sherriff's office called

Project Lifesaver. It is a bracelet or ankle bracelet much like the ones used

for House Arrest but on a much smaller scale, and is used for Mental Dementia

patients (who are cared for at home by loved ones), Alzheirmer Patients, and

mentall handicapped patients, kids with DS and Austism as well. It will cost me

$10 a month for the service and every month a deputy will come out to my home,

check and replace the batteries, and issue a new transmitter. I have called to

have one put on Austin so that in the future (it contains a GPS system and they

have a task force on hand when needed), he will be found quickly. I have also

asked my soon to be ex-husband to come and install a dead-bolt on both the front

and back doors, backwards so that the key

part is on the inside of the house (Austin can figure things out lightening

quick!) and the knob part on the outside.

I urge each and everyone of you to look into this kind of program in your area

and use it promptly, $10 a month is nothing when it comes to protecting our

kids!

God Bless,

Becky, Trey & Austin

PS When Austin gets his, I will again write to you all and give more

information and include a picture of the device.

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