Transcript Search & Rescue Awareness

Search & Rescue:
Initial Operations
Purpose
To familiarize first
responders with basic
response procedures
and considerations for a
missing person, and to
provide tools to assist
them in responding
effectively
Instructor
Insert Information Here
Definitions & Acronyms
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Search and Rescue (SAR)
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PLS = Point Last Seen
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The application of all available resources to locate
and assist persons who are, or are feared to be in
potential or actual distress.
Last place/time/date the person was observed
LKP = Last Known Position
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Last location where the person was known to be
Objectives
Increase awareness of key SAR principles
among emergency response personnel
 Give participants essential knowledge of
priorities in initial search operations
 Increase awareness of SAR resource
availability and common errors
 Present an overview of the initial response to
a SAR incident by local responders
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Illinois SAR Council
Represents 46 Land SAR agencies or
organizations serving Illinois
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Education
Training
Standards
Networking
Resource Coordination
Professional Development
www.illinoissar.org
A Word of Caution
Land SAR is its own distinct technical rescue
discipline, and requires distinct training
 This course gives an overview of what should
be considered and performed during the initial
response to a missing person search
 Additional training or development of specific
procedures for your jurisdiction may be
necessary to ensure effective response
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ISARC Searcher Curriculum
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Search & Rescue Initial Operations (3)
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Basic Land Navigation (8)
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Basic searcher skills, patterns, and techniques
SAR Water Rescue Level I (8)
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Basic searcher skills, patterns, and techniques
G649: Ground Search & Rescue Operations (16)
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Initial response & reflex tasking for a missing person incident
Land-based search of moving water and self/shore based rescue
Ground SAR Crew Leader(16)
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Individual resource unit leader for the Land SAR environment
ISARC Management Curriculum
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Search & Rescue Initial Operations (3)
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G679: Search Management (16/24)
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Covers first 3 hours in which over 85% of incidents are resolved
Covers first operational period in which 95% of incidents are
resolved
G659: Technical Search Planning (16/24)
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Covers ongoing incidents beyond 12 hours making up <5% of all
searches
A Brief History of SAR…
Ötzi the Iceman
45 y.o. Male
 Last seen alive crossing
Ötztal Alps
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Ötzi the Iceman
45 y.o. male
 Last seen alive crossing
Ötztal Alps
 1991 by German hikers
 Last seen alive 5300 years
ago
 Initially believed to have
died from exposure/hunger
 2001 discovered homicide
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Ötzi the Iceman
Learning Points
Need Police in SAR
 All searches potential
crime
 Preserve the site as a
crime scene
 Through secondary survey
 Determining subject
category not always easy
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Volunteer Search & Rescue
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1863 Swiss Alpine Club
Each valley team of
climbers and guides
2006 there were over
3000 SAR members
97 stations throughout
the region
First Modern SAR Statistics
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1973 Dennis Kelley
308 cases from 1964-71
Montrose Sheriff searches
Several characteristics of
subjects described
Did not break subjects into
categories
Survival curves
Cited Koopman & Bridges
First Subject Categories
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1977 William (Bill) Syrotuck
229 cases from New York and
Washington (USA)
Introduced data by
mountainous and flat land
Presented some survival
statistics, looked at weather
Introduced probability rings
Introduced behavior
description
International Search and Rescue Incident Database
Common Errors
Despite years of searches and learning from SAR
missions, we still see incidents with:
 Lack of leadership or clear authority
 Confusion and wasted effort due to a lack of
preplanning
 Failure of responders to implement pre-plans
which do exist (lack of training)
 Improper use of resources
 Failure to begin planning for failure
A Recent Case
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Price County, WI
March 2009
Missing 70 Year Old Female
who suffered from dementia
The news clip you will see is a
follow up story on this search
Movie
Moving Forward
We show this case study as a recent example
of the need to strive to do better in SAR
 ‘Common Sense’ is not a substitute for
training backed by science and research
 Technology, plans, resources, methodologies,
and training should always be improving
 “If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll
always get what we’ve always had”
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SAR to the local responder
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Statistically at any given time in Illinois, there is a
search for a missing person somewhere in the state
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Mostly the young or elderly
Cases are not limited exclusively to forested or wooded
areas as thought of in popular culture
Local and County law enforcement agencies are
usually the first to be contacted and respond
Immediate actions taken early on will usually “make
or break” the search
Search is an Emergency!
Much like HazMat, treat a missing person as an
emergency until you know otherwise!
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The subject may require emergency care
The subject may need protection from himself or his
environment
Time and weather destroy clues
The size of the search area increases with time
Not everyone will, if left alone, survive & walk out
Four Phases of SAR
1.
2.
3.
4.
Locate
Access
Stabilize
Transport
Federal SAR Authorities
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Aeronautical SAR
 Air Force Rescue
Coordination Center
(AFRCC)
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Maritime SAR
 U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG)
Other Federal SAR Authorities
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Inland SAR
 National Park Service (NPS)
 Department of Defense (DoD)
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Department of Homeland Security
 National Incident Management System
(NIMS)
 National Response Framework (NRF)
 Urban Search and Rescue (US&R)
Civil Air Patrol (CAP)
Civilian Air Force Auxiliary
component
 May be utilized in ground SAR
 Primary resource for missing
aircraft and ELT searches
 Aerial assets may be used in support
of missing person searches
 Other assets & capabilities are also
available to assist local agencies
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State SAR Authorities
There is no statutory reference to SAR in
Illinois Law – other states vary
 An agreement between the Governor and the
USAF assigns an “executive agent” for SAR
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In Illinois, this is the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency
This outlines the lead and support roles for
various types of civil SAR missions
Local SAR Authorities
Who get’s the call…911 does!
 Local Law Enforcement are typically the first
to arrive and begin the SAR response
 The actual conduct of SAR typically falls upon
units of local government
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Assisted by local volunteer and nonprofit groups
 Jursidictional authorities may vary in County, State,
or National Parks / Forests
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Local SAR Resources
Law Enforcement
 Emergency Management
 Fire/Rescue/EMS
 Forest Preserve/Parks & Recreation
Departments
 Private volunteer non-profit SAR groups
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Initial Response
Gather Information
Interview the reporting party
 Investigate to confirm the facts
 Attempt to identify the PLS/LKP
 Ask people in the vicinity for help
 Contact subject’s acquaintances
 Contact people in the area the subject was
planning to go
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Questions to be Asked…
Is there actually a problem?
 How serious is it, or could it get?
 Where is it?
 Who is already involved?
 How did it happen?
 When did it happen?
 What are you going to do now?
Use these to guide your information gathering
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Evaluate the Problem
Evaluate the source of initial information
 Evaluate the information itself
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Circumstantial or eyewitness
Consider the facts
 Consider the probabilities
 Consider the possibilities
 Combine the information objectively
 Initiate intensive and ongoing investigation
 Protect clues that may exist
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Lost Person Questionnaire
Organize essential information on the missing subject,
specifically:
 Name and address of subject(s)
 How long have they been missing?
 What were they doing?
 What equipment did they have?
 Age, sex, and physical description
 Physical, mental, and emotional condition
 Are they comfortable in the outdoors
 What is the point last seen (PLS)?
Use ISARC Form 502 to document this information
Initiate Action
Some kind of response should always happen
immediately
 Consider containment actions
 Consider initial search tasking
 Action you take will primarily based on the
subject profile and the manpower and
resources available
 There is a tool available to help you determine
how urgent your search situation is…
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Determining Search Urgency
Search
Urgency
Rating
Factors
SURF
Search Urgency Rating Factors
Rapid assessment of overall search urgency
based on initial information
 Tool to rapidly assess “how bad is bad”
 You will not always have all the information
you would like – don’t get hung up on it!
 Should get you thinking about
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Initial actions to be taken
 Initial resources to be called out
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Search Urgency Form 503
A.
B.
C.
D.
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F.
G.
H.
I.
Number of Subjects
Age
Medical Condition
Physical Condition
Clothing Profile
Weather Profile
Equipment Profile
Subject Experience Profile
Terrain & Hazards Profile
Urgency
The lower the total,
the more urgent the search
Dead within
1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days more
50% 24% 9%
9%
8%
If you have any 1’s on the urgency profile,
initiate action
immediately!
Where to Look…
A search without a subject is nonsense
 Unless the area is contained, the search area
continues to expand exponentially
 Include prominent non-search areas
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Home
 Work
 Friends
 Known hangouts
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Assign someone to conduct the “bogus search”
Time vs. Search Area
Two Hours
Time doubles, search
area is now 4 times
as large.
One Hour
The chance of success is
directly related to the size
of the search area.
Confinement
Confinement is the initial tactical procedure
used to limit the size of the search area
 It is imperative to establish a search area with
specific boundaries beyond which the subject
could not have reasonably passed
 Because of time criticality, initial resources
should be used to establish confinement
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Confinement Methods
Road or trail blocks
 Perimeter patrols
 Lookouts
 Track traps
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Confinement Recommendations
If arriving within the first two hours since the person
was last seen, suggested containment distance is:
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Children under 10
Children 10-15
Alzheimer’s/Dementia
Autistic / Mental Deficit
Despondents
0.5 mile radius
1.0 mile radius
0.75 mile radius
0.75 mile radius
0.5 mile radius
These recommendations are based on lost person
behavior profile statistics for each group
Search Types
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Initial Search
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Efficiency Search
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Search of high probability points and routes with
immediately available resources
Search of high probability areas using techniques that cover
high probability areas rapidly using small groups of specially
trained searchers
Thorough / Evidence Search
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Slow systematic search of all areas using the most
thorough techniques
Initial Search
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Expedient search of high probability points and
routes by immediately available resources
Check the obvious or likely locations effectively
Initial search should never last beyond 3 hours
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During initial search, contact a trained Search Manager for
assistance and have them respond to assist you
Search manager can find resources to expand the search if
initial search is unsuccessful
Use the ISARC initial search checklist Form 501
Initial Search Considerations
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Search area immediately surrounding the PLS to 100 yards in
all directions – repeat often with different personnel
Search likely places that the subject may have reason to be at
(points)
Run trails and paths (routes) looking for the subject, or
someone who may have seen the subject
Protect clues and scent articles which may exist
Establish & continue confinement activities
Continue investigating and gathering information
Call out additional trained resources to assist in the search
Begin planning for search expansion if initial search is
unsuccessful in locating the subject
Bike Model for Initial Reflex Tasking
Bike Model
Steps
Tasks
Axial
1. Mark the IPP
Preserve IPP
Immediate locale search
If structure, search and re-search
repeatedly
Signcutters/trackers
Tracking/trailing dogs
Rim
2. Use statistical lost person data to
mark 50% and 95% rings.
3. Reduce search area using
subjective and deductive.
4. Mark search area boundary on
map.
Establish Containment.
Consider camp-ins, road/trail
blocks, track traps, patrols,
attraction, and string lines.
Hub
5. Immediate locale search
Canvass campgrounds/ if
appropriate.
Thoroughly search to 25% when
less than 350 yards (0.2 miles)
Spokes
6. Hasty travel routes
Hasty trails, roads, drainages,
and other travel routes leading
away from IPP.
Reflector
7. High Probability areas
Send hasty teams to areas of high
probability, high hazard, historical
locations of finds.
Resources
Resources – Basic
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Untrained searchers
Source of manpower
 Not ‘clue aware’
 Unknown quantity
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Trained SAR teams
Trained specifically for SAR
 Certified to a particular standard and have known
capabilities
 Have to be called and available
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Resources – Specialized
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Search Dogs
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Must know what standard they are trained to, and
what capabilities they have
Tracking – nose down
 Trailing – nose everywhere
 Air scenting – nose up
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May not be readily available
 Have limited time during high
heat / humidity
 Have special considerations for use
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Resources – Specialized
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Mounted SAR
Horses also use their senses to search
 Must be trained and available
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Man Trackers
 Specialized vehicles
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ATVs
 Watercraft
 Mountain bike
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Resources – Aviation
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Fixed wing aircraft
Low POD for objects as small as a person without
extensive SAR observer training
 Useful for route searches for vehicles or overdue
aircraft
 Usually limited to daylight search
 Have relatively long time on station
 Require airports for landing
 May require hours before response
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Resources – Aviation
Rotary wing aircraft
 POD as high as 65% in open areas
with qualified observers
 Capable of ‘low and slow’ search
when terrain & conditions allow
 May serve as an attraction
 Possibility of rescue & medical
transportation
 May use hasty landing zones
 Have limited time on station
 Require special fuel
 Response time varies
Hi Tech (Toys-R-Us)
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Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR)
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Hand Held Thermal Imaging Devices
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"Sees" heat, but is blocked by vegetation
Useful in detecting an object with a different temperature
from its background
POD much lower than visual search
Touchy - must be used by a qualified operator
Much the same as FLIR, less range, easier to operate
Night Vision Devices
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Not useful unless the user has been trained to operate with
the device in the search environment
OPTIONAL
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This slide can be used to discuss local
resources, such as those from the host
jurisdiction or your jurisdiction
As the Initial Search Unfolds
Stay focused on completing the tasks outlined
on the checklist
 Ensure you are documenting what is done and
who did it
 Continue to develop your ICS structure
 Begin planning for what you will do if your
initial search does not find the subject
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Benefits of Good Search Management
Properly managed searches:
 Are statistically more
successful
 Enhance searcher safety
 Allow for more efficient use of
resources
 Are well executed and
documented, which will help in
any litigation
Acknowledgements
Developed by Anthony Marzano, CEM
Illinois SAR Council
Photo / Image Credits
Patrick Keane
Illinois Emergency Management Agency
US Air Force Rescue Coordination Center
US Coast Guard
Will County EMA
SARBC
National Association for SAR
Halifax Regional SAR (Canada)
“Peanuts” © United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
All rights reserved. Images used exclusively for educational use.
All animal action was supervised and simulated
No animals were harmed in the production of this presentation.