On Sunday morning, an elderly woman died out in the elements just hours after she was reported missing.
Jeanette Gauss, 89, of Lee's Summit lived with her husband when she wandered from home overnight, prompting a frantic search by family, friends and police
According to family members, Gauss suffered from dementia and early onset Alzheimer's.
Her husband called Lee's Summit police about 4 a.m. Sunday after noticing his wife wasn't home.
The search for Gauss ended when Sharon Johnson reported to work at a nursing facility about 10 blocks away. A resident told her he couldn't open the back door because there was a woman lying in front of it.
"I'm assuming she got lost and wanted to get into someplace warm but the door back there locks on the outside," said Johnson. "The idea that she died cold and alone really bothers me. It really bothers me. And last night was the coldest night of the year."
Ryan Horbin with Tracking Systems Directsays he hears about these types of stories every week, and says his company have the technology to help save lives.
"What our devices do is they provide the ability for people in multiple locations to have real time access to the position of seniors whether they are tracking their vehicle or a bracelet.
Even better is these watches also offer two way voice communication, so you receive an alert. You call the number and it directly speaks through their watch like a cell phone. The senior doesn't need to answer it," Horbin said.
GPS and communication technology designed to find lost loves ones.
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Lisa Benson can be reached at lisa.benson@kshb.com.
