GPS Tracking

Others will chime in with real GPS tracker experience. The best ones have monthly fees and provide real time accurate location. I found it simple to place an Apple air tag in DW’s hat which she wears all the time, set it to alert when “left behind”. I get occasional false alert but it has helped me chase after a few times. More effective has been changing front door deadbolt to require a key to get out. She tries to open occasionally and I just say ir’s broken, going to have repaired soon. An extra latch placed high can also be effective. Easier to contain than chase an escapee. The times she did escape, my air tag was not updating frequently enough to get a good location on moving target.

I have a watch for my husband. It is Theora link tracker/watch. It acts as a phone, keeps track of number of steps and best of all I can track where he is! It does have a monthly bill but I have had to use it 3 times and it is well worth it in my opinion. you can set a safety zone so if LO wanders outside of the zone you get an alert on your phone.

There is no technology which 100% replaces human supervision. Full stop.

Locks/alarms of exterior doors can be helpful. A simple sliding deadbolt installed at the top of the door should be effective as most PWD don't tend to look upward. It may be a good idea to secure doors to the garage, basement for safety reasons and spare rooms just to simplify looking for things he might hide.

Another low-tech hack is to place a dark doormat at any egress from the house. As visual reasoning tanks in Alz, most PWD will perceive a black mat as a hole and avoid the area. This was enough to keep my dad from climbing stairs.

My friend had a mom who occasionally went walk-about in the middle of the night. Mom slept in a suite downstairs, so she installed motion detector mats on both sides of the bed which sent an alarm to her phone upstairs. She also had her doors alarmed to her phone just in case. Before she installed those, she set up bear-traps (a kitchen chair with kitchen tools, pots and pans set on them at the doors mom used. It worked pretty well until she got her Bluetooth alarms installed.

You should also reach out to local LE on their non-emergency line to let them know you have a DH at home with dementia who is prone to elopement. Some agencies do offer tracking but most will want a physical description and recent photo in case of an emergency. Often, they will share this information with other first responders in the community so EMTs and fire services will be forewarned in an emergency.

The downside of trackers is that you'd be counting on battery life, submersion, and compliance. They can be useful, but only if your LO has it with them. IME, Apple tracks better in real time than Tile, but every now and again, my mom's (no dementia but she does have ADHD) phone will locate her on the other side of a pond and 4 lane highway at an Autoparts warehouse about 1/4 mile from her home.

Another useful item for you both would be a Road iD-- which is like a medic alert bracelet and would have information that identifies him and his situation if he was found by someone else. It sounds like he's at a point where, you need to wear something identifying you as a dementia caregiver od a person who needs 24/7 supervision in case you are injured or become ill.

HB

Apple Watches have a GPS tracking option, fall detection and more. There are many products such as Angel Sense where you pay a subscription monthly and you can track where they are, set boundaries where you will be alerted if they leave your property or don't arrive at their destination etc. But nothing is perfect and usually these products are a very short stop gap between independence and needing 24/7 supervision. If they take the watch or pendent off, or don't wear the pair of shoes holding the gizmo it's all useless. It also doesn't prevent them from being preyed on by scammers, picking a fight due to odd behavior, going out in harsh weather without proper attire, walking in the road in the dark risking being hit. I would add locks in high places on the doors. Check Amazon; there are a variety of door alarms and floor mat style alarms for the bedside.