PAULDING, Mich. (WLUC) – It’s been one year since Cam Besonen was found dead in Ontonagon County. This autism awareness month, law enforcement wants the community to know about new, life-saving technology.
Cam Besonen was 17 years old when he walked out of his house and disappeared last year. Three days later, the Ontonagon Sheriff had to tell Besonen’s parents that Cam was found dead.
“Bringing that message to the father was the worst day of my career,” said Dale Rantala, Ontonagon County Sheriff.
Besonen was autistic and nonverbal, making it harder for search and rescue teams to find him.
“We go in the woods hollering their name and hopefully they respond but because Cam was nonverbal, he would not answer,” said Rantala.
“We had to physically go out and try to locate him, looking under every tree, bush and everything,” said Dale Reed, president of Superior Search and Rescue.
Law enforcement quickly looked for ways to keep something like this from happening again and found Project Lifesaver. It’s a band that sends signals to the sheriff’s department, allowing the department to find the person wearing it.
Project Lifesaver is just part of the new technology. There’s also a new drone and a mobile command center.
“It kind of looks like a Ghostbusters gun. But that’s just one of the pieces of equipment that we actually use on a search,” said Reed.
Project Lifesaver says a missing person can now be found within half an hour.
In addition to the new technology, first responders are expanding training. There’s a new class that gives statistics on where people with autism or Alzheimer’s go when missing.
“It’s kind of how we start planning when something does happen. We use the statistics of prior searches of where a person is most likely to go,” said Reed.
Superior Search and Rescue says the community also plays a major role and the president is thankful for everyone who searched for Cam Besonen.
Right now, only one person in Ontonagon County is using a Project Lifesaver band. They’re available in Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw and Ontonagon Counties. For more information, contact your local sheriff’s department.
Read more about Cam Besonen’s story here.
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