RickshawFan
Verified Outdoor Recreation Specialist
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Do we know if infrared is useful if the person has been deceased for several days? I would imagine that's what we're looking at here. It scans for heat, as in a living body, correct?Thanks for the link to the SAR page for Laura.
Some points I picked up from it....
Her car was found parked right at the EV trailhead, rather than near Graves campground. Her gear was not in it. So it seems she did head out on her planned hike.
Two ONP rangers hiked up to the Enchanted Valley on Thursday, November 3. To date there has been no sign of her clothing or gear.
A post by her sister yesterday morning (Monday) indicated that SAR crews overnighted at Enchanted Valley to search the upper portion. One crew was going to hike out that day, searching as they went, while another crew was hiking up to Enchanted Valley. A drone with infrared capability to search river and shore was also being used. Some SAR stayed in field last night as well.Today the emphasis will be on aerial searches.
K-9s were used a couple of days ago, but came up with nothing.
Crews did spend a lot of time in EV, and were camped there overnight (I think there might be a seasonal ranger cabin up there, so they'd have a dry place with maybe wood fire, food drop from helicopter, etc.). That area seems more open, so more amenable to helicopter searches, grid-style searches, etc. I think they would have found LM if she was there.
I believe K-9's proved useless because aroma would have been long gone because of the rain; they were mooted and have hardly been used.