Local News

Program Could Track Autistic People Who Wander

(WCCO) Michael Shimek is fascinated with the color red and with Santa Claus. He is autistic, and before he discovered Santa, he couldn't communicate. Now, he says "Ho, ho, ho" for Santa and "Up, up and away" for the reindeer.

Those are some of just a handful of words in his vocabulary. Even so, Michael's mom Julie says he's a genius at picking locks.

"I go to bed every night, and when I lay down on that pillow, the last thought on my mind is, 'Will tonight be the night?'" said Julie Jurgens-Shimek, meaning the night he gets out and wanders. "It will come with no warning. He will at some point escape, disappear. I absolutely believe it."

For children with autism, a disorder that limits their ability to interact with others, getting lost can be especially dangerous. It was for Kaylie Dickerson last year, when the 5-year-old wandered away from her home in Blaine, Minn. Her body was found in a pond 400 yards away.

"There is a huge part of me that carries some guilt with this being available to Michael," said Julie Jurgens-Shimek. But she's also grateful for something called Project Lifesaver, a national program that helps track autistic kids.

Michael Shimek participates in the program thorough the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department. A button-sized transmitter on his ankle sends a signal that can be tracked by deputies trained in searching for autistic kids.

"The band can not be removed by the client at all, and it stays on permanently," said Corporal Jason Keith of the Sheriff's Department. "The frequency and range is about a mile in good conditions."

Michael Shimek is one of two autistic kids in the county to wear the device. Some residents suffering from Alzheimer's wear them as well.

"Project Lifesaver International, their statistics nationwide as of March 18th of this year they've had 1,665 searches, all 100 percent successful, and all with an average time of under 30 minutes," said Keith.

Julie Jurgens-Shimek said ever since Michael Shimek has been in the program, Keith and his colleague Corporal Nester have become the family's trusted friends.

"I look at them as an extension of Michael's family. They are responsible for him should I pick up the phone and call and say, 'He is gone,'" said Julie Jurgens-Shimek.

"It makes me feel good," said Keith. "The families have an extra sense of security with their loved one."

Right now, only a handful of counties participate in the program. Julie Jurgens-Shimek said she would like to see that change: "It is something that needs to be provided statewide in the state of Minnesota."

In the Twin Cities metropolitan area, volunteers in New Brighton raised $12,000 to get Project Lifesaver going.

"Our greatest hope is that no one goes missing in this program, but in the event that they do, we have a tool to rely on in case that does happen," said New Brighton Police Officer Tony Paetznick, adding he hopes other cities get on board. "If that person goes missing from New Brighton or an  outstate county, it wouldn't matter. Because there would be the locating equipment, the responders available to search for that individual across the entire state."

A statewide system like Colorado's -- where every sheriff's department participates –- may still be a ways off, but Michael Shimek's mother is trying to help speed up the process.

"Project Lifesaver is something I am very passionate about," said Julie Jurgens-Shimek.

She is working to get funding through the legislature to expand the program across Minnesota, for her son's sake and for others like him.

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