This afternoon one of my worst fears was put in effect

My 11 year old daughter with Down syndrome just flat disappeared. Wife was in the front yard with my youngest (7) and her friend, swinging on a tree swing. My middle one couldn't find her, so she opened the back door, opened the garage door and walked away. By God's grace only, she safely traversed 6 damned lanes of rush hour streets and somehow ended up at a local cell phone store around the corner from my neighborhood

Now that our house is settled down, we're in overdrive trying to figure out some new measures to put in place to keep tabs on on her in the future.

AirTags "work", but not when th kid decides to change into pajamas and crocs and walk out th back door.
Bracelets/necklaces are a no go because she LOVES to snag scissors an cut things, so other than a solid meal bracelet that can't be removed, she's escaping it

Am I crazy for considering a tattoo for my kid? Is there QR technology that a police officer could scan and instantly pull up contact information?

Sorry for incoherent rambling. My brain is still processing. And I'm going to the Dr on Monday because I've definitely torn my hernia mesh loose running like a madman through my neighborhood

That's interesting. I'll need to research that

Yeah, I get the downside to the tattoo. But this kid is crafty, and run of the mill strategies don't work :-). So, I'm taking any alternative options I can think of

Been there and know your pulse rate is just now below 200. but mine did not escape the yard. Set up a gps geofence around your yard. Still requires your daughter to wear a device. I've also put AirTags in my kid's shoes. They make insoles for this purpose so she won't even know she has it.

There are GPS trackers for folks that cant be taken off.
Here is an example
https://www.angelsense.com/

Glad she's OK, but let's slow down a bit and think it through a little.

How about go back through whatever happened that allowed her to wander off, evaluate that whole thing from top to bottom, and see what can be done to prevent or circumvent the situation completely? Perhaps a small change in procedure can yield a solution?

All the tracking stuff is nice, but you already outlined why that may not work well, you can definitely explore some of that, but there may be an easier, repeatable, and more effective answer.

Again, glad all worked out ok and you're right for trying to change how things are done.

nothing helpful to add, but I can only imagine your panic. Prayers for you and your whole family.

Thank you for all of th replies.

I'm glad that I didn't have to get the TA autists involved to track her down, although it wouldve been a quick find :-)

Already back from the Depot with 4 switch lock deadbolts going up high on all exterior doors. I've got 4K cameras in my cart to upgrade on the exterior.
I like the safety bracelet idea, and have the alarm company coming over next week to add an extra chime to our system in the living quarters of the house
11 years and this is the first time she's wandered, so at least we've been fortunate so far.

My goodness… so sorry this happened to your family and thank god no harm came of it.

I don't know much about invisible fences. Is there a way you could have one surrounding your property that would trigger an alert if someone wearing a sensor crossed the perimeter?

Glad you found her. For real, don't tat your kid.

Does she have a toy or blanket or something she can't do without you could put a gps tracker in? Maybe her favorite shoes? If not, how about introduce her to something that'll become her favorite and then track that?

Also, let local law enforcement/trusted neighbors know the situation perhaps…..

May be against code and get the house out of "compliance" or whatever if it's ever inspected for sale.

But I'd deal with that later on.

How do you inversion a tattoo working? Are you going to put a qr code on her face or hands or expect a stranger to look under your daughter's clothes to find it? You going to maintain a service to link the qr to her current information when she moves or whatever for the rest of her life? Will she even need it for the rest her life or would it be a (semi) permanent solution to a temporary problem? How are people supposed to know to scan it? You also going to get a big tattoo that says scan me if I'm lost? Even outside of the ethical questions of tattooing special needs children with identification codes like they are a pet, it probably isn't a very good long term solution.

Just get a metal bracelet that she can't remove.

OnlyForNow said:

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May be against code and get the house out of "compliance" or whatever if it's ever inspected for sale.

But I'd deal with that later on.

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I couldn't care less about code compliance. I'm worried she won't be able to get out in an emergency.

Think that one through, please.

At some point, you're going to have to make a very difficult decision -- probably the least of the evils out there, if you will. My only thing about a tat is, what info are you going to put on there and how CAN it be used that isn't in your daughter's best interest? In other words, can it be used against her for nefarious purposes? I don't know -- just throwing that out.

Do they make microchips that are essentially studded earrings?

Hank the Grifter said:

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I'll have to chew on this for a while for ideas but two things:

1) don't tatoo her. She's not a pet. She deserves more dignity than that.
2) thank God almighty that she's safe and back home with you.

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I don't like the idea of a tattoo, but if that's what a loving father chooses to do to keep his child safe there's nothing undignified about it.