Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office volunteer of the year is Fred Mack. Again. The highly appreciated tracker of people with dementia, Alzheimers, or any other cause for wandering off, won the same award about 15 years ago.

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office volunteer of the year is Fred Mack. Again. The highly appreciated tracker of people with dementia, Alzheimers, or any other cause for wandering off, won the same award about 15 years ago.

Project Care Track volunteer recognized for keeping people safe

EVERETT — He finds his way into homes across Snohomish County.

The retired construction worker who spent years crushing concrete has a gentle touch with vulnerable people.

Fred Mack, 76, brings an electronic tracking bracelet and a knack for convincing the reluctant and reassuring the confused.

Often, he is placing the device on a wrist or ankle, giving searchers a huge head start if a grandparent with Alzheimers disease or a child with autism should wander off.

Mack is the primary technician for Project Care Track, a program coordinated by Snohomish County Search and Rescue.

It is not just his special knowledge, but his patience and soothing approach that his colleagues admire.

Mack was recognized in February as the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office volunteer of the year.

Sheriff’s department leaders wrote: “As you can imagine, strapping a bracelet onto the wrist of someone who has a severe cognitive disability can cause confusion, anxiety, and even fear. Fred’s calm, gentle manner is comforting to both clients and family members alike. His gift is what makes him a wonderful and distinguished asset to our volunteer ranks.”

Distributing and maintaining the bracelets is part of Mack’s duties as a volunteer. He also works out of the sheriff’s office south precinct with its citizen patrol program, providing a visual presence and another set of eyes and ears in the community.

With Project Care Track, he signs up clients, issues transmitters and responds when the bracelets are lost or need a battery replaced. When a client wanders, a call to 911 triggers a rapid response from a trained search and rescue team.

The transmitters emit a radio signal with a one-mile radius for searchers on the ground and six miles by helicopter. With Project Care Track, the missing typically are found in about an hour. The average search time for someone without a bracelet or tracker can be up 12 hours, increasing the likelihood of a bad outcome.

Mack began volunteering for the sheriff’s office in 2008, two years after he retired. He always had an interest in law enforcement and sometimes listens to the police scanner in his garage.

He said he finds Project Care Tracker particularly gratifying.

He often spends time with caregivers, hearing their stories about the loved ones they care so much about. He has strapped bracelets on toddlers and octogenarians. He’ll take their pictures, which speed up the searches.

Mack understands some people view the bracelet as a sign of lost independence.

He tries to reassure them that it is a symbol of someone caring.

“I tell them, ‘That’s a love bracelet. If someone didn’t love you so much, you wouldn’t be wearing it,’?” he said.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.

More info

To learn more about Project Care Track, call 425-388-3825 or 425-388-3082.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.