in the days that followed, searchers, including family and friends, chased every lead , including an unconfirmed report that homeless people living on burke mountain may have given the missing man food.
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in may 2020, an 88-year-old delta senior with dementia was found dead in a wooded area near the alex fraser bridge after he went missing from his nearby home. in 2019, two missing seniors with dementia, both from chilliwack, were found dead several months apart, while a maple ridge man with dementia remains missing.
b.c. silver alert , an advocacy group co-founded by noh and coquitlam search and rescue volunteer michael coyle, tracks missing seniors through police press releases. each year, on average, they issue about 29 alerts over social media asking their followers to be on the lookout for someone.
in a major city like vancouver, there are sometimes multiple press releases per week , the vast majority ending with a positive outcome.
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there are more than 500,000 canadians living with dementia today, according to the alzheimer society of canada, with that number expected to rise to 912,000 by 2030. it’s believed that six out of 10 people living with dementia will wander at least once, and many do so repeatedly.
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the society advises families to remove triggers, such as a jacket or keys from the front door, and to be aware of a person’s past routines, like when they used to leave for work, and engage them during that time.
in 2013, police in the united kingdom conducted a trial to give seniors prone to wandering gps trackers. the program cost about $700 per month, but was anticipated to save thousands more by avoiding callouts.
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medicalert , a charity that promotes medical id bracelets, offers a blue version for people with cognitive issues. first responders can access a file of information submitted by the person or their family in advance, including medical information, current photographs, past history and triggers.
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since his father’s disappearance, sam noh has been advocating the b.c. government to create a geo-targeted silver alert system similar to the amber alert program, which could be activated by police in specific communities when a senior goes missing.
during the 2020 provincial election campaign, premier john horgan met with noh and pledged to “continue to advocate” for the system.
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