Dog, technology in dead heat to find ‘missing’ officials – Chicago Tribune

For a brief period late Tuesday morning, Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas and Porter County Sheriff David Reynolds were lost.

With the help of technology and a police dog, the community leaders were found safe after a game of hide and seek meant to raise awareness about a tracking device to help police find someone with memory issues or a disability who has wandered.

Costas and Reynolds were given 10 minutes to hide after leaving Tuesday from Urschel Pavilion during the farmers market. Porter County Sheriff's Detective Cpl. Brian Dziedzinski, portable antenna in hand, headed out to search for Costas, who was wearing a Project Lifesaver transmitter band on his wrist. Sheriff's Cpl. Brian Gill and his Hanoverian hound Bumpus, a tracking dog, set out for Reynolds.

The race was on to see which tracking method was faster.

Dziedzinski headed south on Lafayette Street, holding up the antenna and checking a small transmitter box as he walked.

"I gotta find that first signal," he said.

Soon, as he rounded the county parking garage, the device began to beep. Through an alley, behind a few buildings, down a short flight of stairs, a turn here, and there was Costas, against the back of a building, talking with an acquaintance.

Michael Gard/Post-Tribune

Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas greets Porter County sheriffs Cpl. Brian Dziedzinski after being found during a Project Lifesaver drill Tuesday in downtown Valparaiso.

Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas greets Porter County sheriffs Cpl. Brian Dziedzinski after being found during a Project Lifesaver drill Tuesday in downtown Valparaiso. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune)

The mayor waved.

"You found me! I made a friend along the way," he said.

Dziedzinski said that as the device beeped, he knew he was close.

Costas said he picked the spot on the fly because it was a little way from the pavilion and out of the way, but the device worked anyway.

"No matter where you are, you can be found," he said, adding as an elder law attorney he sees the value for such technology. "There are more and more tools for helping the elderly."

Reynolds came strolling back into the pavilion just a couple of minutes after Costas. He said he rounded the courthouse square to throw off Bumpus, then settled in on the far side of Central Park Plaza by a tree. Bumpus dutifully followed the trail until he found the sheriff.

Both men were found in less than 10 minutes.

The Sheriff's Department offers Project Lifesaver in partnership with Porter County Triad at no cost to the participants, providing watch-size transmitters on bands that can be worn on the wrist or ankle, Dziedzinski said.

The bands, which are waterproof and have batteries that last about 60 days, emit a radio frequency that can be picked up to locate someone who's lost, Dziedzinski said.

About 11 people in Porter County have the transmitters, he said, adding that Porter County cooperates with Lake County, which has about 40 users.

Each band costs $275, and Porter County Triad provides much of the funding to the Sheriff's Department for the program.

"We don't charge anybody. If you have the money available, we would like you to pay for the next client," Dziedzinski said, though no one is turned away.

If a loved one with the device couldn't be found, "it would start off as a normal police call" to 911, he said, and the caller would tell dispatch whether the missing person has a transmitter.

The program was first made available to county residents during Reynolds' first term as sheriff in the early 2000s, after he said a woman with Alzheimer's disease died when she wandered from home in the winter.

"That precipitated this," he said.

While the searches aren't activated often, Cathy Ellis, president of Triad, said the devices can provide comfort and peace of mind to concerned family members, but raising awareness about the program is key.

"We've been talking about this for years but people still don't know what we're about," she said.

Michael Gard/Post-Tribune

Bumpus, one of the canines who works with the Porter County Sheriffs Department, took part in a drill searching for Sheriff David Reynolds on Tuesday in downtown Valparaiso.

Bumpus, one of the canines who works with the Porter County Sheriffs Department, took part in a drill searching for Sheriff David Reynolds on Tuesday in downtown Valparaiso. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune)

Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

An application to participate in Project Lifesaver can be found at http://www.portercountysheriff.com/seniorcitizens. More information also is available from the Sheriff's Department, 219-477-3000.

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Dog, technology in dead heat to find 'missing' officials - Chicago Tribune