Recent content by MTRTA Search Manager

You might be interested in this important film project: http://www.voiceforthemissing.com/Project_Jason/Home.html

Several posters have questioned how Brandon became so disoriented and was sure that he was between Marshall and Lynd when in reality he was northwest of Taunton 20-25 miles away. While we can only speculate on some of this, I believe there are reasonable explanations for his disorientation...

OK, thanks. That is the "official" blog we use to update the community on our search efforts. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to keep it up to date since last summer. Several things in my personal life that I had been putting off for two years caught up with me. Rest assured that the...

cluciano63, Just curious; what website are you referring to? LE is typically not very forthcoming when talking about cases.

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post recently--we are very busy with multiple cases. The search for Brandon is indeed ongoing. We have been back three weekends since March and plan to go back this weekend. We are again obtaining interest in the scent of human remains from the canines...

Yes, the snow has melted considerably in the area in the last week. We are going back this coming weekend. Jeff

You are correct. While we can and do work with dogs in the winter for live subjects and intact remains, it is quite difficult to find disarticulated and scattered remains with frozen ground and a lot of snow. They have had an unusual amount of snow in the area this winter. We will be back...

I would be happy to participate in such an effort. I have been perusing the forums on my cases for years, but finally decided to post when it became clear to me that the general public just doesn't have access to the standards and best practices that have been around in the search and rescue...

Very good question. As a civilian Search Manager, I have to be very clear about the limitations of my role in the cases we work. The investigation of criminal activity belongs solely to the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the case. In Brandon's case, this is the Lincoln...

As mentioned in a previous post, the second fundamental question every Search Manager much answer is "How do we search?" This too, can be a complex problem which requires years of experience to learn how to safely, effectively, and efficiently manage. It is very common among untrained or...

Another quick clarification: Several readers have expressed frustration over the lack of clues in this case. This is also pretty common in searches. There are three types of clues that are typically found in missing person searches: 1) Investigative Clues. These are such things as...

Thank you for your support. When a search goes on as long as this one has, there is a tremeandous amount of frustration among everyone involved, both directly and indirectly. Speculation tends to become more and more wild. The rumor mill takes on a life of its own. Conspiracy theories...

Every Search Manager must deal with two fundamental questions during a missing person search: Where do we search? and How do we search? It can take decades of experience to learn how to effectively and efficiently answer these questions. I will try to give you an idea of how we go about...

You are absolutely correct. We have a pretty good idea where that was (because of a trailing dog used within the first couple of days). The terrain is rugged along the river with hundreds of obstructions (old fence lines, branches, animal den holes, junk, etc.) that could have tripped him up...

We have a pretty good idea what Brandon was doing during the 47-minute phone call with his father. His father wrote up something of a "transcript" of the conversation shortly after Brandon went missing. We know that Brandon's intentions were to meet his parents at a prescribed location in...