By ERIN MATHEWS

Salina Journal

A disabled, rural Saline County boy who wandered at least seven miles with his dog Monday was found safe and returned home after a nearly five-hour search involving area residents, sheriff's deputies and officers from the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Joshua McMahan, 14, a disabled boy who recently moved to the area, walked from rural Salemsborg and was found by a resident in Falun who had heard a CodeRED announcement that a child was missing, said Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski. CodeRED is an automatic telephone dialing system the sheriff's office can use to place calls to all houses within a targeted area.

"It was a relief when they found him," said Deborah McGinty, the boy's foster mother. "I think it was the first time he'd even left the yard."

McGinty was getting ready for work Monday morning when she realized Josh was missing. She ended up calling her boss and saying she wouldn't be in to work. Then she launched a 21/2-hour search that covered four miles in every direction from the house. When she hadn't found Josh by then, she called the sheriff's office.

Sheriff's deputies found a neighbor who had seen the boy headed west down a road, which eventually led them to the boy in Falun. Kochanowski said the call came in at 10:17 a.m., and the boy was found at 12:29 p.m., before a highway patrol plane and search and rescue dogs from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility were brought in to search.

McGinty said Josh told her he had just wanted to take a walk.

"He said, 'I just wanted to walk to clear my head, and I guess I just walked too far,' " she said.

The family dog, Clyde, had accompanied the boy, and then took the opportunity to chase some cats along the way. She said she thinks some detours Clyde led them on got Josh confused about the area, which he was unfamiliar with. It turned out to be a long day for Clyde, a female dog who wasn't accustomed to quite so much exercise, she said.

"Josh said, 'Clyde wouldn't go anymore,' " she said. "I was glad she was with him anyway. She decided to go along and keep him company."

McGinty said sheriff's deputies did an outstanding job, and she is very grateful for their assistance.

Gets a tracking bracelet

Within an hour after the boy was returned home, McGinty signed him up for a sheriff's department program that provides tracking bracelets that emit a radio frequency traceable with a directional antenna. The system was purchased in 2002, said Tina Miller, who administers the program.

Families who participate in the Project Lifesaver program receive a bracelet that can be worn on the wrist or ankle. Participants are asked to pay a one-time fee of $265 or $15 a month to help cover program expenses, Kochanowski said.

The Saline County Sheriff's Office is the training facility for the state of Kansas on using the equipment, which significantly reduces search time and increases the likelihood that a missing person will be found safe.

"In the first 24-hour time period that someone with Alzheimer's is missing, there is a 50 percent survival rate," Miller said. "Time is of the essence."

Currently, seven people in the county wear the bracelets, she said. It gives peace of mind to families whose loved ones might wander away, she said.

Nationally, the program has a 100 percent success rate in finding 1,708 people who became lost from home while wearing a tracking bracelet, she said. Locally, Miller said the equipment has been used successfully several times -- once locating a missing woman with Alzheimer's who was found sitting in a restaurant.

The equipment was originally purchased through community donations. The sheriff's department might seek donations, in the near future, to buy equipment upgrades for $5,000, Kochanowski said.

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