В Южной Каролине полиция демонстрирует эффективность браслетов Project Lifesaver после гибели ребенка, который не носил устройство

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — The company behind a tracking device not worn by an autistic, nonverbal child who died in the water on Pawleys Island says the technology could have saved her. Now, Lowcountry law enforcement is demonstrating why the bands are normally so difficult to remove. The body of Saylor Hayes, 5, was recovered from the Waccamaw River on Pawleys Island Aug. 31 near where she was last seen just a day before. The Georgetown County Coroner’s Office says an autopsy revealed pulmonary edema and no visible signs of trauma. The cause and manner of death remain unknown. Hayes was supposed to be wearing her Project Lifesaver wristband when she went missing, according to her parents, Geordyn Hayes and John Hayes III. This is a device registered through local law enforcement that tracks those prone to wandering if they go missing, like those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, dementia or autism. However, Washington County investigators say the band was found in a car at her home in Virginia. “Had she been wearing it, there could have been a much different outcome,” Charleston County Sheriff’s master deputy with crime prevention Derek Conkey said. Both of Hayes’ parents are accused of encouraging law enforcement to ping her Project Lifesaver band to locate her and diverting search efforts away from the body of water where she was eventually found dead. They each face a charge of unlawfully placing a child at risk/willfully abandoning a child. They remain behind bars at the Georgetown County Detention Center. Public safety agencies, like the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and the Edisto Beach Police Department, use radio frequencies in these bands to find people like Hayes. “They currently still have a 100% success rate since the inception of the program in 1999, finding someone safely as long as they are compliant with the program and wearing the band,” Conkey said. Conkey says most of the time it only takes them about 30 minutes to find the person wearing the band. “Once it’s on there, it’s actually a woven material through plastic,” Conkey said. “It’s not something you’re going to just rip, tear, you have to cut it off.” Washington County Sheriff’s deputies have not yet disclosed how Hayes’ device was removed. And from the band itself to the radio signal, to its range, CCSO and Edisto Beach Police walk through how simple it is to track a vulnerable person in a test example. “First thing you’re going to do is you turn on the device and do a 360 to gain the first directional signal,” Conkey said. Edisto Beach Police Chief Daniel Seyle was able to use a radio transmitter to locate someone wearing the band by hearing the beeping get louder on the device, leading him to find the target. Project Lifesaver International marketing director Nora Firestone says their bands are not 100% waterproof, but highly water-resistant. Also noting GPS or cell phone signals are not as reliable because those do not work underwater. “Radio frequency is the technology that stands the best chance,” Firestone said. Only five law enforcement agencies in the Lowcountry participate in the Project Lifesaver program, including CCSO, Edisto Beach Police, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office. Each agency is only allowed to supply tracking devices to those who live in their coverage area. If an agency wants to participate, Firestone says it costs a $6,000 one-time payment to train, certify and equip seven officers. From there, it costs $400 per device. Someone from the agency also has to go out to the enrollee’s home every 30 to 60 days to change the battery to make sure it’s actively working. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office says they currently have 46 people enrolled, and Edisto Beach Police says they have no one enrolled full-time. They only have temporary vacationers registered from time to time. “You can’t afford not to do this program,” Firestone said. So, adults or kids like Hayes don’t risk getting left behind. “If you have someone who has a tendency to wander, please reach out to your respective agency and get them a device so that we can maybe save their life one day if they go missing,” Seyle said. Click here to learn more about Project Lifesaver. If one is interested in enrolling a loved one and lives in Charleston County, contact Derek Conkey at [email protected] or 843-708-3321. If one is interested in enrolling a loved one and lives on Edisto Beach or in unincorporated areas of Colleton County, contact Daniel Seyle at [email protected] or 843-631-0021.