Mounted search and rescue

[<Jorene@CEOates.com>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Kearney" <pakearney@hotmail.com>
> have organised "intelligence" rides where our team will go and ride in a
> specific area, normally not suitable for local police vehicles seeking
> intellignece on stolen property being dumped, drug crops and alike.

I have to share that this kind of activity wouldn't be appropriate for most
MSAR teams because it is more law enforcement specific and has safety issues
that the typical MSAR team won't be adequately prepared for. Great for
Mounted Police units dressed as casual riders so they aren't obvious
targets.

We have response areas in our backcountry where on a SAR we only send armed
SAR trained sworn law enforcement. And yes, there have been shots fired
during SAR in those situations, when armed guards tried to protect marijuana
gardens or labs. In the past few years we've had 2 shootings of garden
guards in the backcountry. So I'd recommend this kind of activity be applied
only to appropriately trained and armed personnel ... or at least take along
an appropriate number of sworn law enforcement.

Locally, law enforcement uses aircraft as spotters for drug crops and such,
then helicopter insertions of sworn personnel. MSAR has been used later to
pack out marijuana plants, etc., for evidence. ;)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare Co, CA
SAR, MSAR, Swiftwater Rescue, US&R,
Technical Rescue, Cave Rescue,
Hasty Team, ICP
www.CEOates.com/sar
Tulare-Kings CERT Program Coordinator
www.tk-cert.org