LA County is getting a new tool to find and protect vulnerable people with cognitive disabilities

Janet Rivera cares for both her 79-year-old mother, who has dementia, and her 25-year-old son, who has a genetic condition called Fragile X syndrome. Despite their different diagnoses, both of her lovers share a common symptom: they are at risk of running away from home and have cognitive impairments that make it difficult for them to return.

When she arrived LA was founda county program that distributes free technology to help find vulnerable people with cognitive disabilities, it felt like a lifeline.

County gave his son and mother each a wristband that emitted a radio signal every few seconds. If one of them goes missing, Rivera will call the LA County Sheriff’s Department, which will turn on its surveillance system and track the signal from the missing person’s device.

She feels that trackers preserve the freedom and independence of her loved ones, while alleviating her fears that they could be harmed if they are not found soon.

“You have no idea how much it helps us with our stress as caregivers, for our peace of mind,” she told an audience gathered at Gloria Molina Grand Park in downtown LA on Wednesday.

The event marked seven years of the L.A. Found program, and the addition of new technology tools to the program’s arsenal.

Enrollees can now choose from two wearable devices: a radio-transmitting wristband backed by the nonprofit Project Lifesaver, or a GPS-enabled smartwatch from technology company TheoraCare that can be paired with an app on a caregiver’s phone.

Jordan Wall, who is autistic, shows off his GPS watch at Gloria Molina Grand Park on October 15, 2025 in Los Angeles.

(Allen J. Shebin/Los Angeles Times)

The program, which also offers indoor safety training and other resources for families, grew out of Manhattan Beach resident Kirk Moody’s efforts to find his wife, Nancy Palikas, who disappeared on Oct. 15, 2016, while the couple was visiting the Los Angeles County Museum.

While Moody and family members explored the museum grounds, security cameras caught Pavlicas — who had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease — walking down Wilshire Boulevard. He received a phone call in December 2018 that was found in Sherman Oaks Park were her.

In his way A two-year searchmodi and non-profit Alzheimer Los Angeles LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn and others began working on an initiative that LA found.

The service is available to any county resident diagnosed with dementia, autism or other cognitive disability that puts them at high risk of dementia.

More than 1,800 people have received a tracking device through the program, and 29 have been successfully located after going missing.

“Nobody should have to go through this pain, despair and fear,” Moody said on Wednesday, marking the ninth anniversary of his wife’s disappearance.

Wandering is a common symptom of dementia and autism, although for different reasons.

Brain degeneration associated with Alzheimer’s disease usually begins in the entorhinal cortex, which helps us track our position as we move through space, and then moves to the hippocampus, which helps us understand where things are next to us.

As the disease progresses, it becomes more and more difficult for people to mentally keep track of their location, and to remember where they are going or how to get back home.

Autistic people may move away from home or caregivers to pursue something that has caught their attention, or to escape uncomfortable sensory stimuli such as noise or bright lights.

Studies have found that Up to 60% of people suffer from dementiaand 25% to 50% of autistic peoplewill stop or bolt at some point. These incidents can result in injury or death. For reasons that are not entirely clear, autistic children in particular are often transported to bodies of water when they disappear. On average, seven autistic children drown after going missing in the United States every month National Autism Assn.

The greatest challenge for families is that many at-risk people can successfully bypass complex systems of locks and security sensors, even while lacking the verbal or cognitive abilities to seek help after a disappearance.

People have fled while surrounded by caring caregivers, and even when families have taken extensive measures to ensure their safety.

Kate Movius has extensively studied navigation and trains first responders on how to support autistic people. She equipped her Highland Park home with multiple locks and security sensors to protect her autistic son. However, when she got a Project Lifesaver bracelet for Aidan, now 25, he had gone missing several times.

“If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone,” Movius said. “You put out a lot of fire as a guard, and [wandering] It will not happen to you as long as you live.”

If you or someone you know could benefit from LA Found’s free services, contact the program at (833) 569-7651, [email protected] or ad.lacounty.gov/lafound.