PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – LoJack is best known for helping motorists locate stolen cars, but in recent years it has branched out into the field of missing persons. Philadelphia police this week were able to locate a 77-year-old Alzheimer’s patient using their technology.

The unidentified man wandered away from the 200 block of North 52d Street on Sunday. But he’d previously been enrolled in LoJack’s SafteyNet program and was wearing a tracking bracelet. Company spokesman Jeremy Warnick says when the man’s family reported him missing the next day it didn’t take police very long to find him.

“They had our equipment and they were listening for the signal that would be emitted from this missing persons safety net bracelet. They actually went up in the air with their helicopter units and that’s when they began to pick up the signal from the missing person. In a few hours he was found and returned home safely.”

The elderly man was found in the are of 20th and Moore in South Philadelphia. Philly cops have been involved with SafetyNet for about two years now. This is the second missing person they’ve found using the tracking equipment.

Reported by Paul Kurtz, KYW Newsradio 1060