Missing autistic female found with SafetyNet tracking system

YARMOUTH – From Yarmouth Police: On September 26, 2018 at 6:30PM, the Yarmouth Police Department Emergency 911 Dispatch Center received a call from the parents of a 23-year-old female with autism reporting that she had ran away while they were having dinner together at a restaurant in West Yarmouth.

The Yarmouth Police Department was further advised that the woman had a long history of running away and was wearing a special SafetyNet bracelet which can help locate her.

For approximately 45 minutes, Yarmouth, Barnstable, and the Massachusetts State Police conducted a saturation patrol and established a secure perimeter for the missing girl in the area that she was last seen.

A Yarmouth Police Detective—who is specially trained and equipped with the SafetyNet tracking unit– was called in and deployed the device.

Within just two minutes of using the device, the Police Officers could hear a ‘ping’ indicating the female was in the immediate area. They searched further on foot and found the young woman in the rear parking lot of a motel.

The woman told the Police Officers that she had been hiding from them and could see the Police Officers and cruisers in the area but did not travel any further due to perimeter set by the responding Officers.

The young woman was returned unharmed to her grateful parents.

The Yarmouth Departments commends the actions of everyone involved in the search and is grateful to have the SafetyNet device as part of our life safety equipment which helps manage the challenge of searching for and rescuing people with autism, Alzheimer’s, Down syndrome, dementia or other cognitive conditions who may wander and become lost.



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