Untrained searchers wandering around aimlesslessly waiving flashlights are one of the worst things that can happen to a search.
Understand what the searchers are trying to do is rule out certain areas as much as they are tracking. Not all sar personnel are experienced trackers, but even a novice sar type can "cut for sign" along one of the easier places to cut. That might be a creek bank, a fence, a road berm etc. What happens is those teams cut for sign, if they fiind none, obviously, the target isn't in the area beyond.
Imagine say a square of land with a road going right down the middle. The last known position is in the southwest of the square. If SAR cuts the road, finds no sign then the actual area of search is just the western half of the box. (Yes, they will occasionally cut that road again to make sure the target hasn't crossed the road later.)
The better trackers and maybe a a k9 will often start at the last known position and start tracking. Other teams may follow creek banks, trails, ridgelines, or whatever in that left half of the box to further cut down the area to be searched.
If you've had 150 well-meaning but untrained people wandering around through the search area, the search is going nowhere fast.
You think you're helping but you may well cost someone their life. Even if the untrained wanderers don't obliterate the sign, they make the job of sar drastically more difficult by forcing us to check all that other footsign that we may or may not manage to find the real target's footsign before the weather wipes if from the earth.
SAR isn't just wandering around with a flashlight looking under bushes. If you want to do it, get the training and join the hunt. Even basic tracking skills learned from sar are very helpful in many different areas.
Understand what the searchers are trying to do is rule out certain areas as much as they are tracking. Not all sar personnel are experienced trackers, but even a novice sar type can "cut for sign" along one of the easier places to cut. That might be a creek bank, a fence, a road berm etc. What happens is those teams cut for sign, if they fiind none, obviously, the target isn't in the area beyond.
Imagine say a square of land with a road going right down the middle. The last known position is in the southwest of the square. If SAR cuts the road, finds no sign then the actual area of search is just the western half of the box. (Yes, they will occasionally cut that road again to make sure the target hasn't crossed the road later.)
The better trackers and maybe a a k9 will often start at the last known position and start tracking. Other teams may follow creek banks, trails, ridgelines, or whatever in that left half of the box to further cut down the area to be searched.
If you've had 150 well-meaning but untrained people wandering around through the search area, the search is going nowhere fast.
You think you're helping but you may well cost someone their life. Even if the untrained wanderers don't obliterate the sign, they make the job of sar drastically more difficult by forcing us to check all that other footsign that we may or may not manage to find the real target's footsign before the weather wipes if from the earth.
SAR isn't just wandering around with a flashlight looking under bushes. If you want to do it, get the training and join the hunt. Even basic tracking skills learned from sar are very helpful in many different areas.
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