Reunite Program finds the missing with advanced search and rescue tech

Reporter: Taylor Petras
Published: Updated:
Search and rescue technology. (Credit: LCSO)
Search and rescue technology. (Credit: LCSO)

There is a new program that is aimed at getting people home safe, whether that be on the ground or in the air. The Lee County Sheriff’s Dept. plans to go high tech when searching for lost loved ones.

Scroll through the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Page on Facebook and you will find post after post of someone’s loved one who has gone missing.

“It’s not uncommon for us to get reports of missing people,” said Sgt. Russell Park, at LCSO.

Maggie the Bloodhound sniffing for the missing person. (Credit: LCSO)
Maggie the Bloodhound sniffing for the missing person. It is among the various methods LCSO combines to find lost loved ones. (Credit: LCSO)

“We have upgraded our technology to allow us to locate missing and endangered people like never before,” LCSO Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.

Thursday, the LCSO announced the launch of its, Reunite Program, which uses search and rescue technology both on the ground and in the air.

“We discovered upon the creation of our drone program in 2018, we spend less time tracking these people, less time finding them,” Sgt. Park said. “Obviously, the quicker we find them, the better. But overall it’s just more efficient using modern technology.”

In June, LCSO announced it would eliminate, Project Lifesaver, which was a system that used radio frequencies to try to find people.

The Reunite Program will now use infrared technology on drones and helicopters to help find missing people, even in the dark.

On the ground, Maggie the Bloodhound will help sniff out the missing person with the help of personal GPS monitoring devices and scent kits that families can get for free.

“GPS tracking technology has created the ability to notify friends and family the very minute a loved one leaves their home,” Sheriff Marceno said, “and identify the missing person’s location within just a few feet.”

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