A 76-year-old Selma man with dementia and diabetes who wandered away from home was found after a two-hour search Monday.

The Selma Police Department received a call Monday around midnight from one of the man’s relatives. With some help from the community, the Selma Police Department and Potter Station Volunteer Department found the man around 2 a.m., about half a mile from his home on Moores Ferry Road.

The man was sitting against a tree and had a few scratches and bruises from walking through a wooded area, according to Selma patrolman Willie Calhoun.

Wandering away from home is a common occurrence for those with dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, six in 10 people with dementia will wander.

“It’s becoming really regular here lately,” Calhoun said. “On several occasions, we have to try to help locate these people as fast as possible because some of them have other health issues.”

The local Project Lifesavers program provided the man with a transmitter bracelet that would help authorities find him should he wander again.

The device emits an individualized tracking signal responders are prepared to locate. According to the Alabama State Troopers Association, emergency responders can locate individuals with the bracelet in less than 30 minutes.

“It was really cold that night, like 24 or 28 degrees, and we were afraid of hypothermia,” Calhoun said.

While useful, the bracelet is also expensive. Each one costs about $300.

The Alzheimer’s Outreach Group (AOG), a Selma program dedicated to helping those affected by the dementia, helps with ongoing fundraising.

Since December 2013, AOG has been encouraging residents to visit Regions Banks in Dallas County and give $15 or more in return for University of Alabama or Auburn University bronze key chains. More than $3,000 has been donated through the key chain program, according to AOG director Wayne Calloway.

The profits fund transmitter bracelets for Project Lifesaver, which works to raise enough money to provide the devices to every client at no costs.

Calloway took care of his mother, now deceased, when she had Alzheimer’s, so he has personally experienced the fears tied to having a close relative with dementia.

“A person can get out of the house, and you won’t even know it,” Calloway said in December. “This can give you a peace of mind to where if something happens and someone wanders off, all you have to do is call the sheriff’s department.”

All donations to the Alzheimer’s Outreach Group are tax deductible.

For more information on the Alzheimer’s Outreach Group, call 419-3610 or visit alzheimersoutreach.com.

The profits fund transmitter bracelets for Project Lifesaver, which works to raise enough money to provide the devices to every client at no costs.

Calloway took care of his mother, now deceased, when she had Alzheimer’s, so he has personally experienced the fears tied to having a close relative with dementia.

“A person can get out of the house, and you won’t even know it,” Calloway said in December. “This can give you a peace of mind to where if something happens and someone wanders off, all you have to do is call the sheriff’s department.”

All donations to the Alzheimer’s Outreach Group are tax deductible.

For more information on the Alzheimer’s Outreach Group, call 419-3610 or visit alzheimersoutreach.com.