By forming partnerships with local law enforcement and public safety organizations, Project Lifesaver deploys specially trained teams with the most reliable technology available to quickly locate and return wandering adults and children to their families and caregivers. Project Lifesaver has become one of the leading organizations addressing the need to protect these persons and bring comfort to their families and caregivers. Established in April 1999 as an initiative of the 43rd Virginia Search and Rescue Company of the Chesapeake, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, Project Lifesaver is built on the work of the Stokes County (NC) Mountain Rescue program which pioneered the use of special equipment and procedures to locate lost and wandering patients with mental disorders. Amid the dramatic increase of people with Alzheimer’s, Down Syndrome, and Autism, Project Lifesaver has become one of the leading organizations addressing the need to protect these patients and bring comfort to their families and caregivers.