ESCONDIDO -- Sheila Lopes' family thought they had more time.

Lopes, 71, had wandered from her Escondido home twice before, a symptom of the Alzheimer's disease that started to reveal itself about five years ago, her son-in-law, Paul Menth, said last week.

When she disappeared a third time, on Aug. 28, the family was already working on getting Lopes a tracking device that would help them find her if she disappeared again, Menth said.

They haven't seen her for more than two weeks, and neither have the dozens of searchers who have helped look for her or the people who have seen her face in newspapers, on TV and on fliers around Escondido.

"We thought we had more time and we didn't," Menth said. "You'll miss her for five hours, you'll miss her for 10 hours, and then she's gone. This was the third time, and she's gone."

Alzheimer's most often strikes people more than 65 years old, killing brain cells and causing serious problems with memory and behavior. It is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Experts estimate that 60 percent of people suffering from Alzheimer's will "wander" at some point as a result of their disease.

"It's all because of the confusion and not being able to remember how to get back home," said Luisa Eto, a family consultant with the Alzheimer's Association's San Diego chapter. "They might be getting mail and, instead of walking their five feet or 10 feet back home, they turn around and start walking in the opposite direction."

Tracking devices

The tracking device the family planned on getting for Lopes is what sheriff's Deputy Randy Machado calls "a LoJack for people," playing on the name of the security system created to help police track stolen cars.

Machado is head of the county's only Project Lifesaver program, an international law enforcement effort to find and rescue missing people by providing tracking devices to those who need them most, such as Alzheimer's patients and children with autism.

A small plastic bracelet worn by participants emits a radio signal that can be picked up by a receiver. On foot, the receiver can pick up a signal within a one-mile radius, Machado said. From a plane, depending on the landscape, signals could be detected within as many as five miles, he said.

Last year, Project Lifesaver, which costs approximately $7,000 to start up and has five clients in Ramona, was credited with the swift return of a 73-year-old Ramona man with Parkinson's disease.

"It's a good program … it works," Machado said.

But the program requires time, training and money. And 2 1/2 years after starting in Ramona with the help of community sponsors, Project Lifesaver hasn't spread to any other stations or agencies in the county.

The bracelets are available from private companies, but they cost around $300, plus the cost of the monitoring service.

Alternatives

Families do have other options to prevent wandering or help find loved ones who have strayed, Eto said.

Safe Return, a program run by the Alzheimer's Association, uses bracelets and pendants, though they don't emit a radio signal.

When an Alzheimer's patient is found, the silver-tone jewelry provides the finder with information about the person's illness and how to contact the Safe Return call center, which can get in touch with family members.

Safe Return, a nationwide program that operates 24 hours a day, costs about $25 per year after a $50 enrollment fee.

Some families install chimes on the exterior doors of their homes, similar to those heard at businesses or the entrances to department store dressing rooms, Eto said. The chimes let families know when their loved ones with Alzheimer's are wandering off.

In addition, many police departments and sheriff's stations have binders and databases with names, descriptions and other important information about people prone to wandering in their jurisdictions. Agencies do not charge for inclusion in the lists, which help dispatchers get accurate descriptions of missing people to officers more quickly.

"There's ways that you can bypass the expenses of the tracking devices," Eto said.

But cost isn't the only obstacle to protecting someone who might wander.

Resistance

Menth said not every one in Lopes' family agreed that her Alzheimer's disease was debilitating enough to warrant measures such as the tracking bracelet.

"The level of denial was astounding," he said.

Eto said that isn't uncommon.

"They just don't want to accept that a parent, or spouse, or a family member will ever wander," she said. "They don't believe their memory is impaired that much."

Many Alzheimer's patients don't want to be branded either, Eto said.

"Especially if they're in the early stages of the disease … they can find it offensive, " she said. "They might be embarrassed and don't want people to know."

One way to make the emergency bracelets and pendants more appealing is to have them given as gifts from grandchildren or other people dear to the patient, Eto said.

Menth said Lopes' family was committed to making a tracking bracelet as attractive as possible but that the issue would be non-negotiable.

"She's not in a position to make that choice," he said. "She wouldn't even know (it was a tracking device), and she wouldn't even give it a thought."

Family continues to hope

Menth, his wife and her family are still hoping for a chance to give Lopes one of those bracelets.

The initial search for Lopes, led by the Sheriff's Department and its volunteer search and rescue team, started the day she disappeared and lasted 3 1/2 days.

Dogs, helicopters, police officers, residents and volunteers from five counties scoured challenging terrain around the 700-home Emerald Heights development where Lopes lived.

Another unpublicized search took place Sept. 4, Menth said.

"We watched as the sheriff's helicopter swept the entire community …. about 100 feet about the scrub brush," Menth wrote in an e-mailed update the next day. "He could not possibly miss spotting Sheila."

Because Lopes could not have survived on the hills around Emerald Heights for so long, and because searchers have not found her body, Menth hopes that Lopes will be found safely elsewhere.

The family is preparing to offer a reward for her safe recovery, he said.

In the meantime, Menth said he continues to take every call that comes to his cell phone and every question about Lopes' disappearance.

"It's the least I can do," he said.

For more about Alzheimer's disease, contact the San Diego chapter of the Alzheimer's Association at (858) 492-4400, or visit the Web site http://alz.org/san/

For more about Project Lifesaver, call (877) 580-5433, or visit the Web site http://projectlifesaver.org

Contact staff writer Colleen Mensching at (760) 739-6675 or cmensching@nctimes.com.

Tips to reduce wandering

- Encourage movement and exercise to reduce anxiety, agitation and restlessness.

- Ensure all basic needs are met (nutrition, hydration, bathroom).

- Involve the person in daily activities, such as folding laundry or preparing dinner.

- Place color-matching cloth over doorknobs to camouflage them.

- Redirect pacing or restless behavior.

- Place a mirror near doorways. The reflection of a person's own face will often stop him or her from exiting.

- Reassure the person if he or she feels lost, abandoned or disoriented.

Tips to protect a loved one from wandering and getting lost

- Inform your neighbors and local emergency responders of the person's condition and keep a list of their names and telephone numbers.

- Keep your home safe and secure by installing deadbolt or slide-bolt locks on exterior doors and limiting access to potentially dangerous areas. Never lock a person with dementia in a home without supervision.

- Be aware that the person may not only wander by foot but also by car or other modes of transportation.

For more information about Alzheimer's disease, contact the San Diego chapter of the Alzheimer's Association at (858) 492-4400, or visit the Web site http://alz.org/san/