Hello – thank you! Full disclaimer – I can only give my opinion or my understanding on a topic while posting on WS. *I* have never been part of any search for a missing person. Because I come from a small part of the working dog world, I have had the opportunity to meet some outstanding handlers and dogs (I’m a good sport and have volunteered to be a concealed victim in K9 training workshops). We cross paths and the activities I do with my own dogs puts us in the same circle of friends often. I also have an immense interest in the genetic lines of working line German Shepherds. With my own dogs over the years I have trained and titled in herding (yes, my dog herding sheep
) scent detection, then a few years ago the Shutzhund/IPO dog sport bug bit me hard and it felt like home. I love dogs and training my own. Especially a pup to an adult dog. No couch potatoes in my house, everyone needs a job. lol Also, my screen name, K9Enzo was my husband’s partner and very dear to us. We lost him after his retirement a few years ago. My heart still hurts for him.
On to my opinion.
It’s my understanding when LE calls on a trusted & preferred SAR team (including K9’s), as an example, the team lead will go into information gathering mode of the missing person. They will want to speak to someone close to the missing person. They will probably want to know the following:
-Physical description of the missing, including the most recent pic of them.
-Any physical features that stand out.
-Clothing they were wearing (if known). What color would stand out the most during a search by air?
-What items did they have on them? (backpack, purse, etc.)
-What were their plans? Where were they going? How overdue are they?
-Of course PLS (if known). Were they on foot, left in a car, on a bike, etc.?
-Medical background including disabilities. Any Rx medication. How long have they been without that medication, etc.
-Outdoor experience (IMO – when family says –Oh very experienced – this one is always very subjective because family is often clueless to no fault of their own).
-State of mind of the missing. Emotional history. Are they suicidal? Upset over an event? Any recent stressors? Etc.
-What might the missing person due under extreme stress? If lost, would they maybe stay put or panic and keep walking (often times people don’t realize they are lost until they have really traveled away from their intended path)
-For children – are they afraid of dogs? How do they respond to strangers –think of a group of unknown people calling your name as a child or hearing the collar jingle or panting of a dog heading your way. For an adult that is waiting for rescue this would be a huge relief, for a scared child, not so much maybe.
IMO, time is ticking for a live find, especially if using dogs as a scent trail weakens over time, environment also impacts the scent picture and can change it. Broken chain scents happen – the scent is lost and picked up again. If everyone could just walk in one direction and in a straight line
Also, when SAR is called the missing person usually has a pretty big head start on them.
Depending on the discipline of the dog, some are trained to track the specific person from a scent article. Again, they tracking a specific person. Other dogs might be used when there’s no PLS or a scent article isn’t available and they are tracking any human in a search area. This is why I believe it’s important to only have boots on the ground of experienced people so it remains coordinated. More skilled folks in the beginning is better than a bunch of people just out looking, causing more obstacles for the dogs teams. You can then go down the rabbit hole of dogs being trained to work through distractions, missing man line up – these people we are NOT searching for in the search area, etc., etc. etc.
IMO, for the record – the mountain lion theory and dogs. I call it “crittering” when a dog is distracted by another animal scents while working or training. If a dog is thrown off significantly by the odor of other wild life (bear, mountain lion, etc.), then perhaps back to training basics. Something is amiss in training or the dog in general. Dogs smell
everything – they are just trained to zero in on something specific and ignore the rest, it doesn’t matter. If I’m out with one of my dogs, even other people, no matter how interesting, should be treated like lawn furniture, they are just there & don’t matter.
Anyways, IMO, SAR teams will get sensitive information because if the person is found alive or deceased, it can quickly turn into a foul play investigation and crime scene. Most are also trained in this regard. They also keep detailed logs of
everything they did and how assets were deployed so LE has it.
Hopefully, I didn’t take your questions on too much of a hay ride and again, this is only my opinion and someone may come along and set me straight. lol
In closing – my favorite quote at the moment:
That’s what I do. I drink and I know things. - Tyrion Lannister
