Newspaper Article 1991 – A Happy Ending…

A Happy Ending…

Dave Ward and Kevin Lay of the DSlR in Havelock North recently produced the trucking device which will be used to help a Christchurch Vietnam War veteran who repeatedly goes missing.

The war veteran Mr Ian Bradford, 43, wanders from his Aranui home during memory blackouts and often goes missing for weeks before he is found.

He once went missing for several months.

Senior Sergeant Wayne Holmes of the New Brighton police suggested several months ago that Mr Bradford should investigate the purchase of one of the tracking  devices made by the DSlR in Havelock North. Mr Bradford was attempting to raise the $2500 needed through the War Pensions Board.

After reading of the man’s plight in a Christchurch paper, an American tourist walked into a Picton bank, handed over his credit card and told the bank to organise the purchase of the tracking device.

He asked that his identity be kept secret.

When told of the American’s gesture. Mr Bradford said he was stunned and totally overwhelmed. He said that he had never expected such generosity.

The final product made by Dave Ward and Kevin Lay, cost less than the estimated $2,500 but Dave says that they will be giving Mr Bradford five years of free servicing which involves the replacement of a $100 battery each year.

The device is a flat shape a little larger than a 50c coin and is attached to a medic alert necklace which Mr Bradford will wear constantly.

Should he go missing, his family will be able to use a receiver the size of a small transistor radio, and an aerial about two foot long, to find him.

Kevin and Dave are confident that with the use of the device, Mr Bradford will be found within hours. ‘”They know where he normally goes,” Dave says. “it’s just a matter of going to those two or three places and tracking him.”

Photo caption – Dave Ward, left, holds the aerial while Kevin Lay displays the receiver.