NEW HANOVER COUNTY -- A 7-year-old girl who went missing from her Wilmington home last month was found safe and sound and in under 30 minutes thanks to some life-saving equipment provided by the the New Hanover Sheriff's Office.  Although the rescue was a team effort with the Wilmington Police Department, the credit goes to the technology, called Project Lifesaver.

• 7-year-old girl found quickly last month thanks to new piece of equipment
• Project Lifesaver provides timely response to those with the tendency to wander due to a cognitive condition
• People enrolled wear a water-proof frequency bracelet 

Developed in 1999, Project Lifesaver is the premier search and rescue program operated internationally by public safety agencies, and is strategically designed for “at risk” individuals who are prone to the life-threatening behavior of wandering. The primary mission of Project Lifesaver is to provide timely response to save lives and reduce potential injury for adults and children with the propensity to wander due to a cognitive condition.

New Hanover Sheriff's Office Deputy Gene Keith Moore says there are currently about 80 people with cognitive mental disabilities who are using this system in the county. He says to get enrolled in the program is free of charge, you just need to fill out an application on the New Hanover Sheriff's Office website.  Moore says the department pays about $15,000-$20,000 a year to maintain the program that uses unique radio frequency to locate the individual missing person.  

"We genuinely care about our community.  If there is anything we can do that would benefit them, we want to do that. This is one of those projects. Project Lifesaver is a lifesaver, and that little girl is proof of that."

Moore says each person has their own water-proof frequency bracelet that they must wear 24/7.  Then they use detectors to narrow in on the missing person. The closer they get to the person, the louder the signal gets.

Moore says they were lucky to find the missing child last month in under 30 minutes from the time the 911 call went out because the little girl with autism put on her swimsuit and wandered off into a neighbor's pool.

"I guess she had decided she wanted to go swimming, so sneaked out of the garage and went to the nearest neighbor's house who had a swimming pool.  Fortunately, it was an above ground pool and it was shallow enough where she could stand up, because she could not swim," said Moore.

To register a loved one in the program in New Hanover County,  please click here for the application.