When they wander, the community knows.
HUD WanderSafe is a caregiver-triggered missing-child alert app built for kids with wandering behavior — especially autistic, non-speaking children. One calm press sends an alert to exactly the right people, at the right privacy level, with the right guidance.
Free for caregivers at launch
Maya · age 7
Non-speaking · loves water & trains
Last seen · park
2 min ago
Alert radius
1.5 mi
Guidance for helpers
Do not chase. Keep her in sight, call the caregiver below, and call 911 / local law enforcement now.
Why it matters
Kids who wander go missing in seconds
Wandering — “elopement” — is common and dangerous, especially for autistic children. A child drawn toward water or traffic can be out of sight in under a minute.
~half
of fatal wandering incidents involve drowning or traffic injury
Every minute
matters — the first moments set the course of the search
1 in 2
parents of autistic children report their child has wandered
Non-speaking
children often can't call for help or respond to strangers
The catch-22 of well-meaning help
When a child is missing, strangers want to help. But a non-speaking child who is overwhelmed may run farther away when chased — deeper into danger. What they need is calm, informed, coordinated help.
What every moment costs
- Search area grows with every passing minute.
- Water and traffic hazards are minutes, not hours, away.
- One clear, standardized alert beats ten uncertain calls.
HUD WanderSafe never replaces calling 911 or local law enforcement — it makes sure the right people know, fast.
How it works
One press. The right people. The right guidance.
From missing to community mobilized in the calmest, clearest way possible.
1 · Create a child profile
A trusted caregiver adds a profile — photo, age, appearance, last-seen clothing, communication style, behaviors, favorite places, and any info that should be shared appropriately in an emergency.
2 · Press CHILD MISSING
In a crisis, one button starts the alert. Caregivers confirm the last-known location and time, then HUD WanderSafe builds the right alert for the right audience.
3 · The right people get it, fast
The alert reaches verified family, nearby community members, businesses, and organizations at the right privacy level — with clear guidance to help calmly, not chase.
Alert levels
Escalating tiers that share just enough
Every alert finds the smallest audience that can act — and expands only as the situation needs. Privacy stays proportional to the emergency at every step.
Private
Instantly notifies verified family and caregivers with full child information — a private, immediate circle that can start looking without delay.
- Verified family circle
- Full child profile shared
- Highest-privacy tier
Community
Reaches verified users, businesses, and organizations near the last-known location — enough info to recognize and respond, no home address.
- Verified nearby users
- Businesses & organizations
- No home address
Public
Escalates to a public alert with a dedicated web page and shareable social post, widening the search far beyond the immediate radius.
- Public web page
- Social sharing
- Appearance, not home address
Law enforcement
Shares full information with law enforcement, who can escalate to official missing-child alerts. We always encourage calling 911 first.
- Full child information
- Coordinates with 911
- Official escalation
Levels escalate automatically based on how the caregiver responds at each stage — and can always be triggered at L4 with law enforcement right away.
Search radius map
A search area shaped by behavior, not just distance
Alerts carry the last-known location, the time last seen, and the risk zones a child is drawn to — so nearby helpers look in the places that matter.
Risk zones that match a child's world
Profiles remember where a child loves to go. When an alert fires, the map highlights the places an individual child is especially drawn to — turning the search from "anywhere around here" into a real head start.
- Waterhighest risk
- Parksfavorite spot
- Schoolsfamiliar area
- Trailsquick cover
- Busy roadstraffic danger
Privacy & safeguards
Built for trust, not just for speed
A child-safety tool only works if families can trust it. Every feature is designed with privacy, verification, and accountability at its core.
Verified guardians
Accounts belong to verified, trustworthy caregivers — so alerts come from the right person.
Identity verification
Recipients are verified before they see sensitive information about a child.
Law-enforcement confirmation
Alerts tie into law enforcement channels and encourage calling 911 first.
Auto-expiring alerts
Alerts expire automatically, so sensitive information isn't out in the world forever.
One-tap cancel
The moment a child is found, a tap cancels the alert and tells everyone they're safe.
Audit trail
Tracks who saw and acted on an alert, keeping the system accountable and secure.
No home address in public
Public alerts share appearance and last-seen detail — never the family's home address.
Call 911 / LE first
Speaking is seamless, but HUD WanderSafe is always framed as a complement to — never a replacement for — law enforcement.