Search and rescue teams from around the region gathered on Saturday in Sanford to work together, expand their toolkits and learn new skills.
Midland County Search and Rescue (MCSAR) hosted its first multi-agency drill, sending teams into the woods to search for live subjects.
The idea for Saturday’s drill came from Dave Willertz of MCSAR, who recently was assisting with a search in Lapeer with multiple teams. He was deployed with several teams and learned new skills and insights that he wanted his own team members in Midland to experience.
“The learning of a different discipline was very impactful,” Willertz said. “We wanted to replicate that real-world search environment where it’s not just Midland County working as our own little team and running the show. We’re having to work with other teams and other disciplines that we’re unfamiliar with.”
In addition to MCSAR, participants of the drill included Lapeer County Search and Rescue, Alpena County Search and Rescue and Michigan Search and Rescue.
“We get paired up sometimes with K9 teams,” said MCSAR member Cindy Vickery. "It’s good to practice. I did it once on a live search. It’s definitely different. You learn something.”
Shortly after 8 a.m., Willertz briefed the teams. The hypothetical scenario was that an undetermined number of campers had scattered into the woods after a gunman invaded their campground. The police had cleared the area of all threats, but it was up to the teams to find the campers.
Search and rescue teams have several tools to help them find missing persons, including GPS, HAM radio, drones, trained dogs, and compasses. One goal of Saturday’s drill was to register teams into SARTopo and CalTopo apps.
SARTopo and CalTopo allow individuals to share their locations, provide updates and connect with other team members’ devices, no matter if Internet access is available or not. The idea was to get different teams around Michigan signed up so they could have access to the same information during a search.
“This is a big event for the state,” said Mark Walker of MCSAR. “My goal today is to wrap my arms around the teams.”
MCSAR started in 2009 when a group of men, including John Hutcheson, Jay Anderson, Rich Harnois, Dirk Dagenais and Kevin Barnum, realized that Midland County had no standard for search and rescue tactics.
Hutcheson presented a proposal for a search and rescue team to then-Sheriff Jerry Nielsen, who accepted it. MCSAR was officially established the following year.
The organization has expanded to include about 30 active members and would like to grow further, as members aren’t always available due to work schedules or other commitments. They hold monthly meetings in addition to monthly field training sessions.
Membership is open to men and women over the age of 18 who are physically fit and enjoy being outdoors. MCSAR will provide the required training – including first aid and navigation – and equipment.
MCSAR is deployed by the Midland County Sheriff’s Office. Barnum explained that most searches are for people who are very young or old, or who have a cognitive disability; MCSAR usually goes out on a handful of searches a year in Midland, and most of its searches take place in other counties.
“(The amount of searches) has gotten a little less in the last few years because the deputies and the Midland Police Department have become more proficient at finding people,” Barnum said, adding that sometimes a missing person will be found before MCSAR can be on the scene. “That’s the best-case scenario. I don’t care who (finds the person).”
Having different teams practice together on Saturday gave the drill a realistic quality, as teams often collaborate on real assignments. MCSAR has helped with searches in other parts of the state, including an all-night search in Lapeer and a multi-day search in Mount Pleasant. In turn, statewide teams have come to Midland to assist with searches.
“To me, it’s always amazing to see how much dedication volunteers will put into a group,” Barnum said. “They are not in it for the money. They do it because it’s something that needs to be done.”
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Michigan search and rescue teams gather for drill in Sanford - Midland Daily News
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