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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] snow searches

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: Una Smith <una.smith@att.net>
  • To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] snow searches
  • Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 17:00:07 -0700

Lois, this must be hard. This is the search you told me about, isn't it?

I have been on searches with similar conditions. One was a recovery of a
suicide by firearm; a cadaver dog found the body under 12 inches of snow.
Another was a recovery of a man who, like your woman, was in a crash and
tried to walk home. No snow then. I was called on day 3 to do an area
search on horseback and after completing that task I cut for sign outside
the focal search area (which was enormous due to the presence of several
hundred spontaneous volunteers). 7 hours in the saddle that day. In my
debrief I explained the ground conditions were ideal for tracking and the
weather had been still, but I had cut sign on only 30% of the perimeter.
That night they called in trackers and early the next morning a tracker
found the body. They called me too, and I heard the find over the radio
as we pulled into incident base. IC told me the plan had been to suspend
the search, until Plans related my debrief. I would pat myself on the
back except that what I should have done is gone directly back to base
and debriefed *as soon as I realized* tracking was indicated and had not
been done. We might have found the man that day instead of a day later.

I think your search would have benefited from calling in trained trackers
in the very first operational period. How good are your tracking skills?

Also, there is containment and POA to consider. In a large area search
these factors become very important.

Bad weather means you need a huge number of people, because the urgency
is very high and because most people will be able to do only short duty
cycles. It is not uncommon to send people home, or assign them to some
kind of support task, because they are too poorly equipped or not fit
and healthy enough to search on foot. I have learned to ask field team
people about medications and recent health events.

In deep snow I probably would use snowshoes. Fresh powder requires big
snowshoes. Horses are going to get hot fast, working in 2 ft of snow,
and when they get hot they will sweat heavily. If they get sweaty then
you have to keep them moving and warm until you load them in a trailer
and throw a blanket on, or they will very quickly become hypothermic
and exhausted and then you have a life and death emergency. You cannot
stop and stand around for any length of time.

Hope this helps,

Una Smith
New Mexico




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