Norwalk man with Alzheimer's found safe after going missing

NORWALK — An elderly Norwalk man suffering from Alzheimer’s went missing Tuesday afternoon but was found within minutes.

The 71-year-old man, identified only as Richard, wandered away from his Norwalk home shortly after 3 p.m. His family contacted authorities who launched a search.

Richard was wearing a trackable bracelet which sheriff’s deputies used to find him less than an hour later. He was in good health.

The bracelet was provided by L.A. County and is part of the county’s L.A. Found program, which helps locate people with Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism or other impairments which could cause people to wander away and go missing.

The bracelet sends out a signal on a radio frequency which can be tracked to its location by sheriff’s deputies using a special receiver.

“Richard was found quickly and safely thanks to LA Found and the good work of our Sheriff’s Department MET [Mental Evaluation Team],” said Supervisor Janice Hahn.

This is the ninth successful save for the LA Found program since it began in September. To learn more about the program and how to enroll a family member, visit LAfound.com.