Demand for tracking devices for at-risk people jumps 30%

WanderSearch, a Canterbury-based charity providing location devices for vulnerable people, has seen requests surge in the past six months.

Reviewed by Rakai 4 July 2026

A charitable trust that supplies tracking devices to vulnerable people has recorded a 30% increase in requests over the last six months.

WanderSearch Canterbury distributes small transmitters to people at risk of going missing, allowing police and trained volunteers to pinpoint their location using radio receivers. Around 170 people in Canterbury currently carry the devices.

Programme manager Emma Parker attributed the rise to increasing dementia rates and recent public cases of elderly people going missing. The service supports people with dementia, neurodivergent conditions and intellectual disabilities.