Mounted search and rescue

[pennbo@verizon.net]

We've just been having this discussion in our county as well- what can and cannot be posted onto public and social media sites.  I think that for some it is such a normal part of their lives that they forget the far-reaching capabilities of the internet. Our job is not to make things harder but to help. Besides thinking about the families of those involved we should also be thinking of the litigious nature of our current society. Do you really want to open your unit, and  your local law enforcement, up to lawsuits?

As with most things the solution is to THINK before acting. :-)
Chris

 

 

On 01/28/12, Joseph C. Huston<jchuston@earthlink.net> wrote:

 

We were called out to look for a missing man on Lake Conroe in December. Our
team was asked to do the land search while LE searched the water. Side scan
sonar picked up a possible hit and the divers went into the water. Once LE
confirmed it was the individual we were looking for, a member of another
team contacted their home office to let them know he had been found. It was
immediately put on their web site. One of his parents happen to check this
web site and saw that their sons body had been recovered. Needless to say,
LE was not very happy that standard protocols were not followed that state
that LE has the responsibility of notifying the family.




Joseph C. Huston

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-----Original Message-----
From: Una Smith
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 10:21 AM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Pictures

We had a big kerfuffle within the New Mexico SAR community recently. A
dramatic search and rescue was made of a family trapped in their car.
While driving a NM highway in whiteout blizzard conditions, they slid off
the road into a ditch where the car was soon buried under 4 feet of snow
and they became trapped inside. They made a cell phone call for help,
and were located by SAR volunteers who searched a few miles of ditch with
avalance probes. This was a day-and-night search; the car was found at
3am.

A photo of the car window down in a hole in the snow was given by a SAR
responder to the family. The family passed it on to a reporter. The
story was picked up nationwide and many media outlets contacted NMSP PIO
and NMSARC PIO to request the photo or more information about the photo.
Neither PIO knew at the time who was the source of the photo.

You can see the photo in question all over the web, including here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/23/texas-family-rescued-from_0_n_1167788.html

Volunteer SAR responders are not mentioned specifically in most of the
news stories. We work under the state police and often only that agency
is mentioned. Incident Commander of this SAR mission was Nate Lay, who
works for Philmont Scout Ranch and volunteers for SAR both as a member
of Philmont SAR and as a NM SAR individual resource.

Una Smith
New Mexico

PS: A modern avalanche probe resembles a collapsible tent pole. In a
pinch you could use a tent pole. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche_rescue#Probes

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