Special bracelets help locate missing persons
Marlboro Kiwanis Club raises money to support program
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO - Imagine if a loved one who has autism or Alzheimer's disease wandered off without anyone knowing. In a situation such as that, time is of the essence, but where would one start looking for the missing person?

The Marlboro Kiwanis Club has helped to raise money for the purchase of bracelets supplied by Project Lifesaver that would help if a situation like the one described above occurred.

Project Lifesaver, of Chesapeake, Va., is a nonprofit organization that was established in 1999. According to its Internet Web site, Project Lifesaver has become a leading organization in addressing the need to protect people who have Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome and autism.

The program relies on radio technology and trained search and rescue teams. Individuals who are enrolled in Project Lifesaver wear a personalized wristband that emits a tracking signal. When a caregiver notifies his local Project Lifesaver agency that a person wearing a bracelet is missing, a search and rescue team responds by searching with the mobile locater tracking system.

Rosemarie Gibardi, president of the Marlboro Kiwanis Club, said the group raised money to purchase five of the special bracelets to donate to the Monmouth County Sheriff 's Office.

The Marlboro Police Department has been involved with Project Lifesaver for five years. Lt. Douglas Van Note said Marlboro is the only town in Monmouth County to have the program aside from the sheriff 's office.

Van Note said a bracelet, which costs $300, is provided at no cost to a resident who requires one. He said the battery, which costs about $12, must be changed every month. Van Note said six residents in Marlboro presently have such a bracelet.

If an alert is received that one of those individuals is missing, Van Note said the patrol sergeant's car contains the receiver. When the receiver is turned on, it tracks the individual by giving the police a frequency number. When the receiver is within 1 mile of the missing person, it alerts the police to the individual's location.

Van Note said the bracelet helps to decrease the amount of time it takes to find a missing person. He said the time to locate an individual wearing the bracelet can be less than 20 minutes, thereby reducing the resources that are needed to search for a missing person.

On Nov. 19 the Marlboro Kiwanis Club held a question-and-answer session at the Main Street Bistro, Freehold. Capt. Richard Casagrande of the Berkeley Township Police Department, Monmouth County Sheriff 's Officer Robin Eckel and Van Note were on hand to demonstrate the technology to those present.

"Everyone was very interested," Gibardi said.

To raise money for the bracelets, Gibardi said Darryl Brophy, manager of the Outback Steakhouse, Route 9, Old Bridge, donated a room at no cost to the organization. Outback hosted a dinner on Nov. 20 and attendees paid a $40 fee that went toward the cost of the bracelets.

Gibardi said $920 was raised from attendees and there were two $300 donations made that evening to the club for the purchase of the bracelets.

Giacomo Grandi, of Freehold Township, made one of the $300 donations. The second $300 donation was made on behalf of Columbia Bank, Route 9, Marlboro, by bank manager Joseph Svirnelis.

"We're expecting to purchase five bracelets now with the extra money we received," Gibardi said.

For more information about the Marlboro Kiwanis Club, contact Rosemarie Gibardi at (908) 415-7363. The group meets on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 7 p.m. at the Crown Palace restaurant, Route 79 at School Road, Marlboro.