Dementia wandering: how to keep a loved one safe

To the person doing it, wandering usually has a purpose. They may be trying to go “home,” even while they are at home, because home now means a house from decades ago. They may be heading to a job they retired from, or to pick up children who are now grown. They may be looking for a bathroom, trying to ease pain or restlessness, or reacting to a noisy, confusing room. The Alzheimer’s Association notes that wandering can happen at any stage of the disease.^[1]

This matters because the most effective prevention starts with the reason. If you can work out what your person is looking for, you can often meet that need before they go looking.

The Alzheimer’s Association lists signs that someone may be at risk of wandering, including:^[1]

• Coming back from a regular walk or drive later than usual
• Forgetting how to get to familiar places
• Talking about going to work or fulfilling old obligations
• Trying or wanting to “go home” when they are already home
• Restlessness, pacing or repetitive movements
• Trouble finding familiar rooms, like the bathroom or bedroom
• Asking where past friends or family members are
• Seeming lost or anxious in new or crowded places

If you are seeing some of these, it is time to put a plan in place, even if your person has never actually gone missing.

• Keep a routine. Regular times for meals, activities and bed help many people feel settled.
• Plan for the restless times. Many people become more restless in the late afternoon and evening. A walk together, a familiar task or music at that time of day can help.
• Check basic needs. Hunger, thirst, needing the toilet, pain, being too hot or too cold can all show up as an urge to leave.
• Give them something meaningful to do. Folding laundry, sorting, gardening or setting the table can ease the feeling that they need to be somewhere else.
• Reassure rather than correct. If they say they need to go to work, arguing rarely helps. Acknowledging the feeling and redirecting usually works better.
• Talk to their doctor if wandering is new or getting worse, especially at night. A change in medication, sleep or an infection can be part of the picture.

The National Institute on Aging suggests several practical changes:^[2]

• Keep doors locked, and consider a keyed deadbolt or an extra lock placed up high or down low, where it is less noticeable. Keep a key nearby in case of emergency.
• Install a door chime, alarm or smart doorbell that tells you when a door opens.
• Put STOP or DO NOT ENTER signs on doors, which helps some people.
• Secure the yard with fencing and a locked gate.
• Limit how far windows can open.
• Keep shoes, keys, coats, bags and other cues to leave out of sight.

If your person still drives, or has access to car keys, that needs its own conversation with their doctor. The Alzheimer’s Association suggests removing access to keys once someone is no longer driving safely.^[1]

It is worth balancing safety with dignity. Many people living with dementia walk safely for years, and walking is good for them. The goal is to make it safe to walk, not to stop them from ever leaving the house.

If your person does get lost, the next most important thing is that whoever finds them knows who they are and who to call.

• Wearable ID. A medical ID bracelet or necklace with their name, the fact that they have memory loss, and your phone number. If they remove jewellery, label clothing, wallets and bags.^[2]
• A registration program. In Canada, MedicAlert’s Safe & Found program for people living with dementia connects their ID to MedicAlert’s 24/7 emergency hotline.^[3] In Ontario, the Alzheimer Society’s Finding Your Way program offers free resources for people at risk of going missing.^[4] In the United States, the National Institute on Aging points families to the MedicAlert and Alzheimer’s Association Safe and Found service.^[2]
• A recent photo. Keep a clear, current photo on your phone, and update it when their appearance changes.
• Tell people. Let trusted neighbours and local police know your person may wander. Many police services keep a vulnerable persons registry.^[5]

Technology can help, and it has limits. The options include sharing location from a phone they already carry, a cellular smartwatch, a dedicated GPS tracker worn on a belt, pendant or shoe insole, and police-run radio tracking programs such as Project Lifesaver in some areas.^[5] Researchers who interviewed Ontario police about dementia searches found officers pointed to locator technologies like these as useful tools alongside identification and registries.^[5]

A few honest points before you buy anything:

• No tracker is perfect. The Alzheimer’s Association points out that no location tracking system is 100% accurate, some do not work well inside buildings, and tracking is not the same as having a companion. It should sit alongside the other steps on this page, not replace them.^[6]
• Talk about it early, together. In our view, it is easier and kinder to agree on a watch or tracker as a shared plan while your person can take part in the decision than to introduce one later.
• It has to be with them. A tracker left on the kitchen counter does nothing. Choose something they already wear or carry, or that fits into their routine.
• It has to be charged. Decide who charges it, and when.
• Bluetooth tags are not GPS. Many families try an AirTag first. We explain why that has real limits in AirTag vs a real GPS tracker for dementia.

1. Start searching immediately, close to where they were last seen.^[1]
2. Call 911 quickly. The Alzheimer’s Association says to call if the person is not found within 15 minutes.^[1] If they are in danger, near water or traffic, or it is cold or dark, call right away. There is no 24 hour waiting period, and waiting is one of the delays police most want families to avoid.^[5]
3. Tell police they have dementia, and give a recent photo, what they were wearing, any registration or MedicAlert number, and places they might be heading, such as a former home or workplace.
4. Look where lost people with dementia are often found. The Alzheimer’s Association says many are found within 1.5 miles of where they disappeared.^[1] Police researchers describe people with dementia as tending to keep going until they get stuck, and being found in places other lost people avoid, including near water, in marshes, wooded areas and bushes.^[5] They may not call out or answer when their name is called.
5. Keep someone at home in case they come back or are brought back.

Time matters. The same research notes that if a person with dementia is not found within 24 hours, up to half will be seriously injured or die.^[5] Calling early is never overreacting.

Our wandering safety plan guide has a printable checklist you can adapt for an adult living with dementia.

Constant vigilance is exhausting, and it is not a personal failing if your person wanders despite everything you do. Ask for help from family, a local Alzheimer Society or Alzheimer’s Association chapter, respite care and support groups. A plan shared with other people is also a plan that works on the day you are not there.