A new Wander Registry is coming to the region, after a need for the service was identified by Trail RCMP.
The public can now register their loved ones who may have the potential to wander around the community due to possible medical issues, age-related conditions, or other reasons. By registering, RCMP said it gives them awareness about anybody who may be at risk of going missing and providing them with a contact to get a hold of when the person is located.
“What this does is allows the RCMP to be aware that we may run across this person and that we will check in with them,” said Sgt. Mike Wicentowich, Trail RCMP. “If it turns out they have been missing for a significant amount of time we can put their loved ones in contact with them and just make sure that they’re okay.”
According to Wicentowich, this issue of wandering and frequently missing individuals is starting to become a bigger problem in the area and that it needed to be addressed.
“We’ve been looking at adding value to our service and this is one of the things becoming more common throughout detachments in offering the service,” said Wicentowich. “We started developing it about a year ago and we have all our policies and procedures and forms in place so we’re just able to offer this service now to the community.”
In order to make the registration process run more efficiently, the RCMP are asking those interested to provide as much information as possible when signing up, along with a current, up-to-date picture of the person.
Those interested in providing information to the Wander Registry can contract Trail RCMP at (250) 364-2566.