Butler County Sheriff's Office

[Public Info Officer]

Sheriff’s Office Receives Initial Grant for Rescue Program, Seeks More

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones is pleased to report that thanks to a generous $5,000 grant recently received from the Butler Rural Community Connection, the Sheriff’s Office is in the process of joining Project Lifesaver International. Project Lifesaver is a rapid-response partnership program designed to help quickly locate victims suffering from diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Down’s Syndrome, Autism, or other mental conditions, who have wandered away from their homes. Under this program, the patient wears a special bracelet containing a transmitter. When they are reported missing, trained Sheriff’s Office personnel will be able to locate that patient using a combination of electronic tracking devices. Project Lifesaver has reported over 1,000 search and rescue missions nationwide, so far all resulting in successful rescue of those who wandered off, returning them safely home.

“Receiving this grant from Butler Rural has helped us through the first, crucial step and we can’t thank them enough,” said Sheriff Jones. “This rescue program is desperately needed, and it has proven that it can save lives. Unfortunately, we’ve already had some incidents in Butler County that ended in tragedy. With this grant we can now purchase the equipment needed to begin this program. We hope to be up and running early next year. The special bracelets aren’t cheap—a few hundred dollars each. Hopefully, additional civic organizations or private donors can step up to the plate and donate to our cause. Our goal is to be able to provide the bracelets free to all patients who need them. With enough financial support from the community we can do that. If we don’t receive more support, we’ll have to pass those costs on to patients and their families who need them.”

For information on how you or your group can help the Sheriff’s Office with this life-saving program, please contact Kim Prewitt, at the Sheriff’s Office, (513) 785-1013.


Prepared by: Det. Monte Mayer
Public Information Officer