You still have questions, the what-ifs that leave you uneasy. You want that sense of closure.
Search and rescue volunteers are dedicated. They all want a happy ending for every search. Most of them are well-trained, experienced, and capable. I haven't met a bad search and rescue volunteer yet. But volunteers have jobs, families, and homes to return to. The average multi-agency search will last about 5 days before search resources are exhausted and the search is moved to "limited continuous mode", also known as "we're not giving up, but we're going home."
I may be able to help.
Cover areas of interest, areas that haven't been searched or areas that have but deserve another look.
I will provide complete GPS logs of my activity and as many photographs as you desire.
Get another set of eyes on a search.
I will re-examine any records of past search activity and terrain, and take another look at the facts of the case.
I rely heavily on applied statistics for lost person behavior and look for information that might mislead a search.
Effective searches require strong ground teams and experienced search management. I can coordinate the efforts of your friends, family, and other searchers, and provide brief field training, ensuring a thorough and efficient search effort.
If you need additional resources, I can find them.
I have many friends and contacts with a wide variety of skills in search and rescue teams around the west coast.
I have recorded well over 500 hours of combined search activity and multi-disciplinary training. I hold certificates from reputable organizations in search management, man tracking, avalanche safety, wilderness first aid and CPR for professional rescuers, and I am registered as a type 1 ground resource by my home county (approved for mixed/rough terrain and unplanned overnights). I have had multiple flights in both the UH-72 Lakota and the UH-60 Black Hawk, practicing communications support, searching from air, and ground deployment. I now also assist with training new volunteers in multiple skills.
I can provide copies of my certificates if necessary.
I have been a part of every aspect of search operations, from being a basic ground resource for very small searches to supporting incident command roles in some of the largest multi-agency operations in my state.
I have spent much of my recreational life in the wilderness: small mountains, big mountains, high and low desert, coastal ranges, and more. I have also been a rock climbing instructor, I have climbed Mount Rainier (the Kautz Route), and I enjoy peak bagging in both Winter and Summer conditions.
When I'm not out in nature, I am a professional in the computer industry with an interest in applied statistics. This makes me one of very few people with strong capabilities in both the technical and physical aspects of search operations.
That means time on the ground must be focused on specific, justifiable search areas. I can review past search activity and suggest areas that might be worth searching, or I can search specific areas that you believe need to be searched, but I cannot and will not spend a lot of time "just wandering around".
I will also refuse to consider any information coming from psychics, mediums, intuitives, astral-projectors, dreamers, and the like. There is no scientific support for these beliefs and they can and do mislead search efforts. If you want someone to follow up on a "lead" from a psychic, I'm not your guy.
I cannot break any local laws, including trespassing on private property. Local search and rescue teams operate in partnership with local law enforcement agencies which gives them some legal protections. I will not have those protections, so there are some areas that I cannot search.
If possible, I will want to coordinate with a friendly representative from your local law enforcement agency, preferably whoever is most familiar with your case. Some cases cause friction between law enforcement agencies and the civilians involved. Law enforcement agencies often have good reasons for not sharing all of the information related to a case. Some cases are the result of foul play, even when nobody expects it, and sometimes the people who committed the crime will try to involve themselves in a search. Law enforcement may suspect this and not be able to share that information, and that may cause them to discourage private search activity.
If local law enforcement is uncooperative, I can still review the case, offer advice, or search publicly-accessible areas. If I locate human remains, I will probably be obligated to make my initial contact with the local law enforcement agency.
I will need to ask some questions about the situation, your relationship to it, and why you want to spend additional resources on it. This is for your protection and mine: I want to ensure that it makes sense for you to devote more resources to this, that you have enough information for me to create a search plan, that I am not unduly interfering with an active investigation, and that participating in this search is both ethical and legal.
I always put in maximum effort but cannot guarantee any particular outcome.
I cover my own transportation, food, lodging, and basic equipment costs. Destinations requiring more than about three hours' travel are billed as a full day.
I'm accustomed to long days with lots of physical activity in a wide variety of conditions. I can cover between 10 and 50 or more acres per day on the ground depending on the terrain, conditions, and the search pattern being used.
My primary service range is Oregon, Nevada, and California. I will consider working outside that area depending on the situation but modest additional travel costs may need to be covered.
Fill out the form to the right to get started. Include a brief desription of the situation. Make sure your phone number is correct. Your information will be saved to the server and emailed to me, and my phone will be alerted.
If I am not already deep in some wilderness somewhere, I will call you back shortly.
Please read the ethics section up above before sending the form.