Posted Monday, July 6, 2009 --- 1:25 a.m.

Release from County Executive's Office

Reverse 911 technology utilized by the Dane County 911 Center is being credited with helping to locate a missing Alzheimer's patient Sunday evening on Madison's east side.

After receiving reports the 83-year old patient had walked away from a care facility on Milo Court, the 911 Center's on duty Supervisor, working with 911 staff and the Madison Police Department, coordinated placing a reverse 911 call shortly after 6 p.m. to alert people living in the area to keep an eye out. Within 20 minutes of the Reverse 911 calls being placed, the individual was located by a citizen.

Reverse 911 is technology that allows the Dane County 911 Center to quickly call households when authorities need to get important information to those living in certain areas in a timely fashion. Nearly 700 Reverse 911 calls were placed in less than 20 minutes to homes within a half mile of the care facility.

A citizen that received one of those reverse 911 calls went outside to look around for the elderly individual and found her in a drainage ravine in the area of Swanton Road and Hamlet Place. Because the patient had been missing for a couple of hours an ambulance was quickly dispatched as a precaution and the person was taken in for medical treatment.

"Because of our 911 Center's fast work and the efforts of law enforcement, a situation that may have otherwise ended in tragedy, ended with success," County Executive Kathleen Falk said.

Falk and the County Board funded an expansion of the Reverse 911 program in this year's county budget, which allowed the 911 Center to place more of the calls in a shorter amount of time.