WA ‘Take Me Home’ program is bringing missing people home

RENTON, Wash. - For families of missing loved ones, the experience is nothing short of a nightmare. Across the region, reports frequently emerge of children escaping backyards or adults with memory issues unable to find their way home.

Now, a local program is making a critical difference in locating vulnerable individuals when every second counts. 

With April being Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, local police departments are encouraging families to utilize the "Take Me Home" program to ensure their loved ones can be identified and returned safely.

The "Take Me Home" program functions as a vital resource behind the scenes at the Renton Police Department. The initiative is designed specifically for children or adults who get disoriented.

What they're saying:

"The Take Me Home program is basically a way to get people home, and it's all centered around someone who can't communicate," Sandra Havlik, Communications and Community Engagement Coordinator for the Renton Police Department said.

The process is simple: families provide a recent photo, the individual's name, and emergency contact details. This information is stored in a database that officers can instantly access via their mobile units while out in the field.

"If your person that you love and care about wanders away, we want to get them back home to you as quick as possible, and it's just one more tool to do that," Havlik said.

The program is free and voluntary for both children and adults who may become disoriented due to cognitive conditions. The department stresses living in Renton is not a requirement for registration because wandering often crosses city lines, having a profile on file can be life-saving.

"If an elderly person who may be suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia, maybe they think they're going to work, but they worked, let's say for Boeing, 20 years ago," Havlik said. "So they hop on a bus, and they could be coming from Everett or anywhere around... that might place them in our city, where then we could look for them or make contact."

Local perspective:

The nationwide effort began with a single officer in Florida. Renton PD has utilized the program since 2018 and more than 70 people are currently registered.

Nearby in Kent, the police department is also urging families to register. The push follows several recent cases where children with cognitive issues were found by officers but remained unidentified for extended periods, delaying identifying and reuniting them.

Havlik noted the program has already proven its worth in the field. "Just a handful, that maybe we've gotten home quicker than we would have before," Havlik said.

For caregivers, the reality is that a lapse in supervision can happen in a heartbeat.

"Two seconds, that person can be out the door and wandering," Havlik said.

When those moments occur, the Take Me Home program evolves from a simple database into a lifeline—a way back home.

What you can do:

The Renton and Kent Police Departments manage their own independent databases. Registration takes only a few minutes and can be completed at the following links:

City of Kent: Take Me Home Program

City of Renton: Take Me Home Program

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