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QUINCY, ILL. -- When a person who suffers from Alzheimer's or maybe a child who's been diagnosed with autism wanders away from their home or caregiver, there can be a few anxious moments.

But there's a program now available that can help try and locate that person.

Project Lifesaver has helped in locating over 25 hundred people in the last 13 years and now the local program needs your help.

The way it works is that a small bracelet can go either on your ankle or wrist and it can provide a safety net like no other. The bracelet contains a radio transmitter and if a person who's wearing the bracelet wonders away they can be found a short time later. For Terry Fryrear of Loraine, Illinois, she has a son who's been diagnosed with autism and she's glad this program is available.

"A piece of mind is an understatement It really is a small price to pay for a big peace of mind," Fryrear said.

To demonstrate how this works, Quincy police officer Tom Liesen gave the bracelet to a man and gave him a five minute head start on foot. After the allotted time, the search was on to find the person who was "lost." Police used their specialized antenna to listen for the beep that corresponded with the bracelet. After about 15 minutes of searching, the lost person was found safe sitting in Washington Park.

"We can never say 100% of the time we're going to find somebody, but by our past practices with project lifesaver and over 25 hundred searches, 100% success rate and an average search time of under 30 minutes, you can know based on that we're going to find them," Liesen said.

Each bracelet costs about $300. Batteries on the unit last about 30 days. Right now, there are six children who are wearing the bracelet as well as one adult in Adams County. Liesen said if a family can't afford to pay, there are options that can be taken into consideration to help that person get a bracelet and get into the program.

Liesen added the bracelet transmitter can be located within a mile on the ground and if the locating antenna is in the air, it can locate the bracelet up to five miles away.

For more information you can contact Officer Tom Liesen at the Quincy Senior Center at 217-223-7904.