1. SEARCH AND RESCUE
Land/Wilderness

2. Ben Morse. SPECIAL OPERATIONS DIVISION CHIEF
Ben Morse SPECIAL OPERATIONS DIVISION CHIEF SAVANNAH FIRE & EMERGENCY SERVICES GEORGIA SEARCH & RESCUE TEAM COORDINATOR

3. Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness
Methodology
Terminology
Search Techniques
Two Types of Searches
Land/Wilderness
Urban Searches
Geo-referencing

4. Search and Rescue Terminology
Search Areas
Assigned by Incident Command
Map
Search Grids
Labeled
Map issued to each Team
Point Last Seen (PLS)
Point on map where victim was last seen
by a witness
Positive ID!
Trailhead, hunting camp, office space, work area, etc…
Place to focus search around
Age, experience, physical fitness, how long ago sighted
clues to how large search area will be

5. Search and Rescue Terminology
Last Known Position (LKP)
During a search clues will turn up
When they are solid enough to be reasonably certain that the search victim left it
Since LKP more recent than PLS
New starting point for search
General direction of travel
Approximate speed of travel

6. Search and Rescue Terminology
Probability of Detection (POD)
Likelihood of finding search subject in:
Given search area
With technique used
Different search techniques yield different POD’s
Coin reported in Sand Box
Each search technique has a “probability of detection”
More thorough: higher POD/longer it takes to search same area
Managing a Search is a balance of POD and Search Time

7. Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness Search
Equipment
Maps
Handheld GPS
Compass
Suitable clothing
Weather / Environment
Communications with aircraft
Food, water, first aid, etc….
ATV’s

8. Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness Search
Search Techniques
Bastard Search
Look in obvious places/assume victim not lost
What the searchers call the person after crawling through woods, etc… then finding him eating popcorn and watching baseball
Example: boy goes hunting and doesn’t return by dark
Searchers called out
Boy returns home in wee hours
In reality, hunting story was fabricated to get out of chores and spend day with Sally

9. Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness Search
When suspected – assign a team to do a hasty search of likely places the person would go
Considerations
Intelligence
Latest info of plans of person
Where they were going
Who are the friends
Recently made friends
Speed
Use radios & vehicles so planners can rule out areas
Talk to the couple in the tent next door
Was there an argument earlier in the day
Leave a note on the car, etc…

10. Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness Search
Containment Search
When search team arrives they have a PLS of victim
Determine max area based on PLS
How fast person walking
How long since last seen
Wind up with a circle with PLS at the center
Direction unknown
Make containment the top priority
It limits your search area
Anyone can do it
Straight roads – two or three searchers
Even two sides of area helps
Must be vigilant – 100% that no one gets by them
Run rehab for those in deeper searches/report in by radio regularly

11. Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness Search
Hasty Search
10 to 12 highly trained searchers dropped in to virgin area
Goal: move quickly, look for clues or lost person
Purpose: Bring a rapid end to the search
Almost slow jog, check areas person may be injured or resting
Not directed – team has free reign
Slow down for point search; pass open areas very rapidly
Speed requires trained rescuers who know to look for clues
Footprints, broken branches
POD based on skill of rescuers and search area
POD: good rescuers in high probability areas – good chance for finding conscious person
30 – 40% chance a conscious person is not there if Hasty Search Team doesn’t find him, however, there is a 70% chance that an unconscious person is still there.

12. Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness Search
Grid Search
Typical line of searchers walking through woods
Searchers in straight line moving slowly and deliberately
Maintain spacing with searchers on sides
Do not take the path of least resistance (thorn bush)
Seldom find victim, but typically find clues
Sometimes used to give people something to do in very large searches
Spacing – pack of cigarettes

13. Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness Search
Choke Point Search
Use based on lost persons skills, and the terrain
Large river with few bridges
Typically not very useful where lost person is trying to evade searchers
Can be handled by less experienced/physically fit teams

14. Search and Rescue Land/Wilderness Search
Track Trap Search
Natural or man-made “traps” that capture evidence of a lost persons passing
Footprints in sand
Clothing caught in thorn bushes
Where frequent lost persons are reported,(National Parks) SAR teams build track traps out of sand on major trails
Track traps are raked smooth, then checked frequently
Tracks are compared to those of the lost person

15. Geo-referencing Should they all at least understand the playbook?
Do we need to have all Searchers using the same system,
Air
Ground Teams
Incident Command
Others…
Should they all at least understand the playbook?

16. Geo-referencing Latitude / Longitude United States National Grid
Global Area Referencing System

17. Lat/Long
Lat / Long
Keeping it simple~ for Catastrophic Incident SAR, the commonly described “Latitude and Longitude”describes what a SAR responder will use on a standard chart/map and what is displayed in a GPS receiver.
Lat: North
Long: 81.1k685 West

18. Lat/Long

19. United States National Grid (USNG):
Ground-based grided coordinate system based on Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) System.
Basic unit of measure is the meter; positions reported as distance north from equator and distance from the zone central meridian.
Purpose: provide a seamless, standardized ref system for nationwide use during times of crisis.

20. US National Grid

21. Global Area Reference System (GARS):

22. Georeferencing during a Catastrophic Event
NSARC Georeferencing Matrix: Catastrophic Incident SAR
Georeference System User USNG Lat/Long GARS
DD-MM.mmm (1)
Land SAR Responder(2) Primary Secondary N/A
Aeronautical SAR Responders(3) Secondary Primary Tertiary
Air Space Deconfliction(4) N/A Primary N/A
Land SAR Responder/ Primary Secondary N/A
Aeronautical SAR Responder
Interface (5)
Incident Command:
Air SAR Coordination Secondary Primary N/A
Land SAR Coordination Primary Secondary N/A
Area organization and Secondary Tertiary Primary
accountability (6)

23. Georeferencing during a Catastrophic Event
The Footnotes
During CIS operations, Lat/Long will be in one standard format: DD-MM.mmm.
Land SAR Respondersmustuse USNG; however, a good familiarity with lat/long is necessary to ensure effective interface between Land and Air SAR Responders.

24. Georeferencing during a Catastrophic Event
Air SAR Responders will use lat/long.
Air space deconfliction: only in Lat/Long.
Air SAR Responders working with Land SAR Responders have primary responsibility of coordinating SAR using USNG(Both need to know USNG and Lat/Long.).
GARS (Global Area Reference System): used for CIS response leadership situational awareness.

25. Georeferencing during a Catastrophic Event
Catastrophic Incident defined:
any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass causalities, damage, or disruption, severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions

26. Lat/Long –USNG -GARS
Matrix is for NSARC member agency SAR Responders NSARC won’t impose georeferencing standards on volunteer, local, or State SAR Responders; however: Need to be aware of what to expect when a Catastrophic Incident is declared and NSARC member agencies conduct SAR operations.

27. Lat/Long –USNG -GARS
Matrix will be implemented when a Catastrophic Incident occurs.
(As defined in the NRF)

28. Questions?