‘They got him!’: Video shows police locate missing Markham man with Air2 helicopter
Posted April 12, 2024 9:19 am.
Last Updated April 12, 2024 11:09 pm.
York Regional Police released aerial footage after officers in an Air2 helicopter successfully tracked down and safely located a vulnerable 69-year-old man who had been missing in Markham.
The York Regional Police Air Support Unit and Search and Rescue Unit were working with officers in Air2 on Wednesday when they obtained a Project Lifesaver signal 1,000 feet up in the air from the missing man’s wristband tracker.
The signal appeared to show the man amongst a group of vehicles in the area of McCowan Road and Finch Avenue in Scarborough. They were able to narrow the signal down to a TTC bus.
“Strong signal on that bus,” an officer on Air2 says. “Air2, I see the cruiser pulling up. Check that bus.”
The video shows the moments ground officers safely locate the man.
“Let’s go! They got him! No way that could have been done without this helicopter.”
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Those who are part of the Project Lifesaver program wear a personalized wristband that emits a tracking signal. When caregivers notify York Regional Police that the person is missing, a Search and Rescue Unit team responds to the area where the individual was last seen and searches with the assistance of a mobile tracking system.
A police spokesperson said Project Lifesaver is a program designed to assist police in protecting and locating vulnerable citizens.
“It is a reliable, rapid-response system that assists in locating people who are vulnerable as a result of a brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, Autism or other health-related conditions,” the spokesperson wrote in a news release.
