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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: Cindi Rothrock <gottahorse@yahoo.com>
  • To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] SOP's
  • Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005 19:52:38 -0800 (PST)

Una,
Thank you for the tip. Actually, I've already contacted Lincoln-Logan
(IL) MSAR team for help. According to what we've learned, they are very
highly regarded as top-notch in the state. They are only about 100 miles from
us and hold monthly trainings from Apr. thru Nov. They've invited us to train
with them, and we intend to take them up on their kind offer.
I'll keep a watchful eye to this message board; it has already provided a
wealth on information in the first week. Thank you. Cindi

Una Smith <una.smith@att.net> wrote:
Cindi,

Something to consider is the environment in which your new team
will operate. Which means: make it a top priority to identify
the best SAR teams in your state (Illinois), regardless of their
specialty, and focus on learning what they do, how, and why they
do it that way.

Una Smith
New Mexico
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Cindi (gottahorse@yahoo.com OR aceliberty@hotmail.com OR
cindi@trailridingarabians.com)



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Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005 20:09:07 -0800 (PST)
From: Cindi Rothrock <gottahorse@yahoo.com>
To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
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Subject: Re: [MSAR] Illinois MSAR
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Una,
This training was cancelled due to Hurricane Katrina. Our newly formed
team attended the training which Henry County held last April. It was
excellent. I would highly recommend it. We will definitely sign travel up
there for the next one. Cindi Douglas Co., IL MSAR member

Una Smith <una.smith@att.net> wrote:
MSAR is really picking up in Illinois. Some new teams are
starting up, and Henry County hosted a mounted SAR training
back in September, which I hope will be repeated in 2006.
Quoted from http://www.henrycty.com/sheriff/, the training
was advertized as follows:

>(10 August 2005) Henry County Sheriff's Office Mounted
>Search & Rescue will be hosting an "SAR Certification,
>Recertification, and Training" session at the Henry County
>Fairgrounds, Cambridge IL, on Saturday and Sunday Sept.
>10th and 11th, 2005. All are welcome, with or without
>a horse. Registration is Saturday at 8:00 AM at the
>Fairgrounds, classroom session starts at 9:00 AM. The
>Sunday field exercise will start at 9:00 AM. Horses must
>have 1 yr Coggins and proper vaccination. Dress appropriate
>to weather conditions, including proper footwear and long
>pants. Bright colored clothing is recommended. Training
>requires a compass and a whistle. Be sure to bring any
>medication you may need while in the field. Water and
>snacks are also recommended. Housing for horses, tie out
>areas, and trailer parking are available. The Henry County
>4-H will be serving Lunch and Dinner on Saturday and a
>pancake breakfast on Sunday. For more information contact
>Sheriff Gib Cady at 309-937-3901 or SAR President Heidi Owen
>at 309-944-6317.

Did anyone here on MSAR-Riders participate in this training?
Care to debrief us on how it went?

Una Smith
New Mexico
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Cindi (gottahorse@yahoo.com OR aceliberty@hotmail.com OR
cindi@trailridingarabians.com)



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Subject: [MSAR] Grundy County (Illinois) MSAR
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Below is a newspaper story that mentions our Lois Guyon's
MSAR team in La Salle County Illinois, and an older team in
the adjacent county Grundy. The story is now off the web,
else I would simply provide the URL. I think it was first
published in July 2005.

Una Smith
New Mexico


Sheriff?s Posse trains for search and rescue missions
By TAMMIE SLOUP ? For The Times-Press

It happened nearly 20 years ago, but the panic is still fresh in Terry
McCormick?s mind.

He had taken his 4-year-old daughter to a wedding reception, where the tables
were dressed in long, floor-length tablecloths.

The perfect hiding spot for a child.

McCormick?s daughter crawled under one of the tables and fell asleep. -- for
an hour.

?This was just after the Melissa Ackerman situation,? McCormick recalled. In
1985, 7-year-old Ackerman of Somonauk was abducted in broad daylight and
murdered in a wooded area.

As McCormick?s daughter slept soundly under a table, partygoers searched
frantically for the young girl.

?You just can?t describe the feeling,? he said.

McCormick recalled the frightening experience when asked what prompted him to
sign up for the La Salle County Mounted Sheriff?s Posse -- a group of 20
trained volunteers who assist local law enforcement agencies, and are trained
and certified in search and rescue techniques on horseback, as well as
evidence preservation, drug searches, crowd control, and support for natural
disasters.

The program was initiated three years ago at the request of Sheriff?s Deputy
Dave Guinnee, who was impressed with Grundy County?s operation, which was
established 15 years ago.

Guinnee, who had retired from the Ottawa Police Department after 20 years and
had recently been hired as a Sheriff?s Deputy, pitched the idea for a La
Salle County Posse to Sheriff Tom Templeton, who jumped on board immediately.

?Horses can go into places where it?s hard to go. They?re a very, very
valuable asset to have,? Templeton said.

Since the county?s program was first organized three years ago, the team has
been called out to assist in several high profile search and rescue cases,
including the three-week national search for 3-year-old Joshua Gleeson and
his 5-year-old sister Ashley of Dwight in 2002. The team was on the scene
with Grundy County?s Posse when Joshua?s body was recovered from the Des
Plaines River.

In two other cases -- the search for 7-year-old Dalton Mesarchik of Streator,
and 3-year-old Riley Fox of Wilmington -- the bodies were recovered before
the team could arrive.

In a search and rescue case, Templeton said many times law enforcement
agencies will deploy search dogs onto the scene first because the horses can
throw off the scent.

?But the horses can move farther, faster and longer,? Templeton explained.
Mounted on a horse, the riders also can see from a height of 10 feet -- an
advantage when searching areas such as cornfields.

Posse members and their horses must complete rigorous training to be part of
the team. Although there is no state certification for such an operation,
Guinnee said he certifies his own team through a handful of training courses
held throughout the year.

One of these courses was held recently at Catlin Park in Ottawa. Clad in
jeans, cowboy boots, and brown jackets with the word ?Sheriff? printed across
the back in yellow letters, the crew mounted their horses after a four-hour
classroom session and headed to a nearby field for a desensitizing course for
the horses.

?We?re teaching (the horses) to go into what they think is danger or at least
tolerate it,? said Jim White, a former Grundy County Sheriff?s Deputy who is
part of that county?s posse. White was one of several Grundy County Posse
members who took part in the recent training.

Upon arriving at the field, the group split into two teams. A giant green
ball was placed in between the two groups as they faced off for a humorous
round of trying to kick the ball past the opposing team.

Not an easy task when it?s the horses doing the kicking.

?Horses are flight animals,? explained White. If a horse doesn?t recognize
something, their immediate instinct is to flee.

After the game, the group huddled together in the blustery weather as Lorne
Cordes of the Grundy County Posse raised a handgun over his head and pointed
it upward. The sound of the gun was meant to startle the horses.

Upon firing the gun, the horses stiffened, some stepping back a few steps.
But as a whole, the animals remained fairly calm. It was a vast improvement
from last year, commented some of the riders.

?It?s all about your horse trusting you,? White said, while observing the
training from a golf cart. ?When you build a horse?s confidence, they believe
it?s you making the good things happen to them.?

Members of the team are hand-picked by Templeton and Guinnee, who is an
accomplished rider who trained with the Grundy County group prior to the
formation of La Salle County?s posse.

?It has to be a special person who is willing to donate their time during all
types of weather,? Guinnee said.

The posse includes male and female volunteers from all walks of life,
including professors, nurses, carpenters, police officer and park ranger. And
all donate their time without any compensation or reimbursement for the
expense of keeping a horse.

?You have to be a very good horse person and be able to be trusted. We?re
searching for bodies at crime scenes, and there has to be a certain
confidence level that we must entrust upon these people,? Guinnee said.

?You?ve got to be careful who you let in. All volunteers have a good heart,
but you can?t bring discredit on the outfit,? White said.

Only about a half dozen mounted search groups exist within the state.





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