Arizona Sheriff Plans for Registry of People With Dementia

The Mohave County Sheriff's Office in Arizona is planning to create a registry of people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia to help authorities locate them more quickly if they go missing, reports the Associated Press . According to Sheriff Doug Schuster, it would be worthwhile for his office to offer Mohave County a registry that covers a range of diseases and characteristics. He said he would like to begin organizing such a registry by next spring. "What we would do is come up with a feasible mechanism to put in place and encourage cities to participate," Schuster noted. "We don't want to step on any toes. We believe it's important to afford families the opportunity to reach out in every one of the cities." The sheriff has been examining existing registries in other cities, such as Phoenix's Chandler suburb. That city's Return Me Safe program is designed to help locate people who wander due to various conditions. "People with Alzheimer's ... tend to focus on certain things when they go missing," says Chandler Police Department spokesperson Seth Tyler. "Having that information aids in our searches."