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Around 5:00pm Friday, Jacob Tyler Ranew, a 12-year-old boy with autism, went missing in Lee County. Just shy of 11:00pm, he was found.

Ann West, whose 6-year-old son gave her a similar scare a year and a half ago, knows the seriousness a missing child is.

"I cannot imagine a child being missing for 5 hours; it's a matter of life or death," said West.

Had Project lifesaver been in place, a program that uses a GPS tracking bracelet to locate a missing child, Ranew could have been located in just minutes.

The program cost around $4,000 to implement into an area, but that was paid for locally by a grant, annually the cost of bracelet is under $300 a year.

The Albany Police Department, is in the process of implementing Project Lifesaver. Their family protection unit has already received training and will be responsible to searching for an individual should they go missing.

"We're excited to hopefully get to the point where it's full implemented, we've received a few request so far, about 6 or 7 request so far," said Phyllis Banks, the public information officer for APD.

The grant only allowed for a limited number of GPS bracelets to be purchased, however more can always be purchased later to help more find their way home.