Washington County authorities test Project Lifesaver

From right, Captian Blake Andis and Detective Billy Nichols with the Washington County Sheriff's Office talk with Jeff Stiltner and his son Billy. Billy, a Down syndrome patient, wears a braclet as part of Project Lifesaver, was the subject of the search during a training exercise.

By: Michael Owens | TriCities.com
Published: March 11, 2010

ABINGDON, Va. – Detective Billy Nichols waved the multi-pronged antenna gun toward the baseball field to his right and then to the Wednesday afternoon traffic on the left.

He cocked his head to the side as he listened to the static on the headphones. Moments later, the Washington County Sheriff’s officer stepped toward the baseball field, with Sgt. Dreema Pullon close behind, police radio in hand.

Nichols’ antenna gun had picked up the radio-wave ping transmission from the ankle bracelet worn by 18-year-old Down syndrome patient Billy Stiltner, of Abingdon. The search for Stiltner was a training drill for Project Lifesaver, a tracking technology the sheriff’s office offers for free to elderly and mentally challenged residents likely to wander away from home or school.

Still, the officers’ urgency was real. So was their trek across the dirt infield, over a rocky drainage ditch, through a cemetery, and finally the sprint to the log cabin at the corner of the graveyard.

They found Stiltner sitting on the log cabin’s porch, his parents Jeff and Patty Stiltner standing nearby.

The parents signed up for the program two years ago. Since then, the 4-inch screws have come out of their house windows, Billy has been allowed to walk the family dog in the yard and stress levels have dwindled.

“When he was a kid, he used to run away ... he thought it was a game,” Patty Stiltner said.

The family also rests easier during trips to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Project Lifesaver is used by law enforcement there, too, Jeff Stiltner said.

Pointing to the white, wristwatch-sized transponder hidden under the cuff of his son’s blue jeans, Jeff Stiltner testified to the durability of the technology.

“It’s been in the ocean, it’s been in the pool,” the father said. “It’s everywhere he is.”

More than 1,000 agencies in the United States, Canada and Australia use the technology, according to the Chesapeake, Va.-based company’s Web page. Eight Washington County residents are currently signed up as clients, and there is room for more, said Elaine Smyth, sheriff’s department office manager and Project Lifesaver coordinator.

Money from the department’s radar enforcement fund covers the cost for every client, she said.

“There’s really no excuse for anyone in Washington County to have a loved one who is not protected,” Smyth said.

mowens@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2549