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Rescue of Missing Man with Down Syndrome through Combined efforts of Massachusetts State Police and Boston Police Department Using SafetyNet Tracking System

Press Release 06/28/2016

On Monday June 27 at around 12:20PM, a 21 year old man with Down Syndrome wandered away from his home in the Mattapan Section of Boston. The man was wearing a SafetyNet Tracking Systems bracelet that sends out an electronic radio frequency signal.

A family member called 911 and notified the Boston Police of the incident who immediately dispatched officers to the man’s home to begin a search. At the same time, BPD activated officers trained in the SafetyNet system and dispatched them with specialized tracking equipment to begin an electronic search for the missing man.

During the course of the search, the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing was notified of the situation and they responded with a helicopter and a trained trooper with SafetyNet tracking equipment. At approx. 3:30PM, the MSP helicopter crew picked up the signal from the man’s SafetyNet bracelet in the area of the Ashmont “T” Station and notified the BPD of this information. BPD officers equipped with SafetyNet tracking equipment on the ground responded to this area, also picked up the signal, and located the man within minutes. The man was unharmed and was returned home by Boston Police.

The MSP and the BPD, both of which have been part of the SafetyNet tracking system for several years along with the MBTA PD, have had many combined successful searches using the SafetyNet system since the program began in Boston in 2011.

The SafetyNet system is available throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island as well as in parts of 15 other states. It is designed to protect and locate people with various cognitive conditions who may wander and become lost. For more information, call (877) 434-6384 or go to www.safetynettracking.com.