NEWS
Published: August 30, 2026 at 11:24 PM
After two children with autism drowned in Jacksonville retention ponds this month alone, a state lawmaker is drawing attention to legislation that aims to help monitor children who may have communication difficulties and be at risk of wandering.
Sponsored by State Rep. Wyman Duggan (R-Jacksonville), the Florida program Project Leo, which provides free personal search-and-rescue devices to people at risk of wandering, is back in state law and funded under legislation that went into effect July 1.
The project, which was reenacted this summer after first becoming law in 2016 and later expiring, provides free personal search-and-rescue devices to people at risk of wandering, including children with autism.
The small, wearable trackers — typically worn on the wrist or ankle — use radio-frequency signals to help locate a missing person.