CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Imagine how helpless you would feel if your loved one was missing and you didn't know where they were.
It's a feeling felt by one man whose mom with dementia went missing in Chesapeake and was returned to him by the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office.
Janice Hall is 82 years old. On Nov. 28, she gave her family quite a scare when she was with them for one minute and missing the next.
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"I thought I was in complete control," explained Hall. "I had to go to the bathroom and I don't know what happened after that."
According to family members and the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office, Hall had wandered to different stores in the shopping center and then crossed six lanes of traffic on Hanbury Road.
Hall is living with dementia and is a client of the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office Project Life Saver Program.
Under-sheriff David Rosado says the program started in Chesapeake in 1999 with former Sheriff John Newhart and has been life-saving to many vulnerable citizens in the community.
"Project Lifesaver has 57 clients, comprised of adults and children," explained Rosado. "The adults have Alzheimer's and Dementia the children have Autism."
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As a client, Hall was wearing a special bracelet that could track her movement.
Deputy Conrad and Senior Deputy Robert Perdue told me Hall had been missing for about an hour before they found her. Senior Deputy Perdue says the technology tracked Hall across from the Hanbury Shopping Center just in time.
"The medics said she had hypothermia," said David Hall. "Her temperature was elevated to 103. I remember it being very was cold that day, about 38 degrees."
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David Hall says he's grateful to get his mom back before tragedy struck. Both he and his mom think it was a close call as well as a reminder for other families like theirs.
If you are looking to give your loved ones the gift of safety this season, the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office says it's $200 upfront to be a client on the program. However, the Sheriff's Office also fundraises for the program to help individuals who may not be able to afford the program.
You can find details by clicking the link, here.
