L.A. Found Celebrates 7 Years of Success, Introduces New GPS Smartwatch

On October 15, the County of Los Angeles marked the 7th anniversary of its life-saving L.A. Found program with a press conference highlighting a new GPS smartwatch, celebrating successful rescues, and reflecting on the incident that led to the program’s creation.

At the Grand Park event, program staff introduced the new Theora Care GPS smartwatch, which offers real-time location tracking, geofencing alerts, and a caregiver-connected SOS button. The device expands options for families with loved ones at risk of wandering.

The smartwatch is designed to help caregivers monitor individuals with Alzheimer’s, autism, dementia, and other cognitive conditions, ensuring they can be safely reunited with their families if they go missing.

“This program is evolving to meet the needs of more families,” said Maral Karaccusian, who supported the launch of L.A. Found in 2018 and now oversees its continued expansion as the newly appointed Interim Director of the County’s Aging & Disabilities Department (AD). “Behind every feature and every device are people, families doing their best, and our job is to support them.”

The event also recognized  L.A. Found Day, the anniversary of the tragic disappearance of Nancy Paulikas, a 55-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s who went missing in 2016 after wandering away from her family during a visit to LACMA. Her remains were discovered more than two years later. Her story, along with the tireless advocacy of her family and her husband, Kirk Moody, spurred the County to act.

“Nancy’s story reminds us why this work matters,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Today we honor her memory by keeping others safe. These new GPS smartwatches are not only helping locate people who wander and go missing, they are giving priceless peace of mind to their caregivers and loved ones.”

Media outlets in attendance included the Los Angeles Times, Daily News, NBC, ABC, CBS, Telemundo, Univision, L.A. City View 35, and the L.A. County Channel, among others.

Karaccusian and Kirk Moody, also appeared in a CBS in-studio interview the following day.

L.A. Found outreach continued on October 22 with a webinar featuring program staff, Moody, and Carlos Benavides, President of the Los Angeles County Commission on Disabilities (LACCOD).

Since launching in 2018, L.A. Found has distributed more than 1,800 tracking devices, including both GPS smartwatches and radio frequency (RF) bracelets, and is credited with safely locating 29 individuals who went missing due to Alzheimer’s, autism, or other cognitive impairments.

View Photos