Officer creates registry to help find loved ones with Alzheimer’s who wander

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — A new registry aims to help families locate loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease more quickly should they wander away from home.

Joe and Lyndi Bonnette will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in November. “We’ve had a glorious life together. We’ve had fun. We’ve had ups, we’ve had downs,” says Lyndi.

Life changed for the Bonnettes when Joe, or Coach Bonnette as many folks know him, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and aphasia. Lyndi has since become joe’s full time caretaker.

“I just take care of him with the same love and patience, thank you God, I pray for patience everyday, that I know he would take care of me if the roles were reversed,” she says.

She and her children Keith and Brantley noticed small changes at first. More recently, Lyndi says, Joe has forgotten how to shave.

“They call it the long goodbye, and it’s painful and it’s hurtful, but you just have to put your trust in God that he’s gonna take care of us, and it’s his time table not ours,” she says.

Lieutenant Jennifer Haig with the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety is a long time family friend of the Bonnettes. When she saw Joe’s diagnosis on social media, she decided to help.

Haig created “Project Bonnette” — allowing family members to plan ahead by providing officers with a current photo of their loved one and time-saving information.

“It’s like a pre-plan if someone goes missing. We have all the information ahead of time. Because there’s been times we’ve responded to missing persons and it turns out we’ve driven by them because we didn’t have a good picture or description of them,” Lt. Haig says.

According to Haig, the registry takes into account things like emotional triggers, the best way to approach the person, if the person is verbal or non-verbal, if the person has fear of law enforcement, and areas they may have previously enjoyed visiting so officers know where to look first.

Haig says the registry is also for individuals with dementia, autism, and brain injuries.

“We still laugh and have a good time. It will never be the same. Everyday is different and everyday he digresses a little bit. But we do like everybody else does. Nobody is promised tomorrow, and so we do the best we can with the day that we’re given,” says Lyndi.

To register with Project Bonnette, contact Lt. Haig at 803-533-4104 or by email at jennifer.haig@orangeburgdps.org.