Wilderness Search

The search for missing people in large wooded areas and other difficult terrain can be done by an individual dog and handler but also with more handlers and their dogs on a search line. In this chapter we first describe search tactics and then discuss types of alert and ranging.

Search Methods

For the wilderness search, also called an area search, there are four different methods of searching:

• Searching along a road

• Corridor searching

• Sector searching

• Searching a slope or mountain

Searching Along a Road

Searching along a road is a quick search method that can be used when we have information on the possible route the missing person took. With this method, two handlers walk, one on each side of the road, directing their dogs to loop only to one side of the road. The dog does not cross in front of the handler to the other side but instead stays on one side to search from the edge of the road in loops. How deep the dog is sent into the woods depends on the dog’s ability, the density of the area, and the direction of the wind.

This search method can also be used by one handler with a dog. The dog searches first one side of the road and then the other side on its way back. It is advisable under these circumstances to take along an assistant without a dog. No one should go alone on a mission.

With this search tactic we have to teach the dog to range the area only to the left as well as only to the right side of the handler, as appropriate.

Figure 8.1 Road search. When two handlers search along a road, one directs a dog to search to the left side of the road and the other to the right.

Corridor Searching

With corridor searching, more handlers and dogs walk in a straight line through the area at a large distance from each other (about 55 yd. or 50 m). The distance between the handlers depends on the accessibility of the terrain and the ability of the dogs. They should be farther apart in open terrain and closer together in thick shrubs. The line is preferably arranged so that dogs with lower ability, which can search only smaller areas, work beside more experienced or higher-ability dogs, which can search larger areas. With this search method, the dog crosses in front of its handler to search both the left and the right side areas between the handlers.

For the corridor search to function best, there should be at least three and at most five or six handlers. If more handlers and dogs are available, then they can choose to search by sector or form a second corridor search line, which will be placed behind the first one. With this latter approach, the handlers of the second search line should be staggered behind those in the first search line (like rows of seats in a theater). This method is useful when an area has to be searched intensively. The handlers of the first search line can walk a wider distance from one another because the area between them will be searched once more by the second search line. So the dogs don’t disturb each other, the distance between the first and the second search line has to be at least one hundred yards (100 m). The second search line works independently of the first search line.

After a search line has been drawn up at the beginning of the area and the command to search has been given, the handlers send their dogs looping in a systematic grid pattern from left to right throughout the area. It is of great importance that every command to stop or continue searching be passed on from every handler to the adjacent colleagues. Working in a corridor search requires much discipline and attentiveness to make the search mission a success.

At one edge of the search line walks a handler or helper who can orient well in the terrain (using a compass or GPS navigation device) and who keeps an eye on the borders of the search area. The whole search line must be directed by this person. In Figure 8.2, this person would eventually replace the marking flags.

When the line makes a side movement (for instance, when the line is searching its way back along a bordering area) it is important that the person standing on the border on the side the line is moving toward keeps standing there. That person knows the border of the area the line has just completed searching.

Figure 8.2 Corridor search. In a corridor search, the handlers walk parallel to each other and their dogs range back and forth to search to both sides of their handlers.

Leadership Is Essential

During a course for beginners and advanced search and rescue dog teams, many handlers got irritated with the way the operational leader—the middle person in the line—was giving commands during a night exercise in which they had to search a large area of forest. This person was giving commands loudly, was not willing to discuss the search pattern to be followed, and was leading the whole corridor at a high tempo, which was not easy because of the darkness and the terrain. For the beginners, it was too difficult to follow this experienced search and rescue dog handler, who had already completed many wilderness searches. The beginners were not satisfied with the way he did things, and after everyone returned to the hotel, there was a great deal of discussion about what happened, although the exercise worked out very well.

Some beginning handlers, who doubted the success of the exercise, arranged for a night exercise that they would command the following evening, where they could work it out their own way. It was a disastrous exercise because of the endless discussions about the search pattern to follow, the division of the terrain, and which dogs should search where, all of which took an enormous amount of time. Many handlers were confused about what was to happen next. Each time a part of the line stood still, another part continued. The line had to be constantly reconnected and regrouped.

There is much to be learned from this story. The leader should be aware of the experience of the handlers in the group and adjust the pace and directions to ensure everyone can contribute effectively. On the other hand, handlers in the search group should not interrupt the search to discuss search patterns. During the search, everyone must follow the leader’s orders. Especially with corridor searching, discipline is of the utmost importance, because you are working in bigger groups and always walking some distance from one another. If the line falls apart, the whole area has to be searched again or something may be missed. There is time in the debriefing to ask questions and discuss problems.

Figure 8.3 It is important to discuss every exercise thoroughly, but not during an operation, when efficiency and speed are critical.