Many local law enforcement agencies are taking steps to improve their search tactics when a person is reported missing.

The plans come after the death of seven year old Benji Heil in June of last year. He had gone missing from his Nekoosa home, and his body was found five days later

Today the Portage County Sheriff's Department announced its' plans to implement a program called Project Lifesaver.

Ever since it's inception in 1999, Project Lifesaver International has been responsible for locating more than 7,000 missing people.

And Friday the Portage County Sheriff's Department announced its' plans to join the seven other Wisconsin counties that employ the service.

The program gives a bracelet with a transmitter embedded in it to individuals at risk of wandering off, and if they go missing, families can alert their authorities, who will have recievers on hand to locate them.

The transmitter can be worn around a person's wrist or ankle. And officials say the average search time for missing people wearing one of these is greatly reduced."

Lieutenant Jan Taylor of the Portage County Sheriff's Department says, "The program has been so successful that the average amount of time in locating individuals wearing this equipment is 30 minutes."

That's opposed to the average search time without, which is seven to ten days.

Waushara County has employed the program since 2002, and got to try it successfully for the first time last May. Their program director was in Portage County today, aiding with the setup.

Chris Makaryk, the Program Coordinator for Waushara County's Project Lifesaver says of their first trial, "The unique thing was, she was in a heavily wooded, low-down area right behind her house. We would've never seen her by eye."

The program estimates a startup cost of sixteen thousand dollars, but officials say that cost is nothing compared to the cost of an average search.

Lieutenant Taylor adds, "It's incredible what kind of resources it saves, and the anguish that it saves for the families."

Officials say they hope to have the program up and running by the end of the year.