Please do not freelance, despite your training and good intentions, your unintentional and undocumented entrance into the search area could put many lives at risk.

As noted, some of the search dogs, which are human scent searchers, could hit on your presence and cause resources to be diverted to an area, which has a low probability of success.

Your footprints could add an additional “hint” adding to the list of variables that must be eliminated.

If you become lost or injured, you have now added to SAR’s problems and will cause resources to be diverted.

As noted all searches are law enforcement operations, your undocumented presence and the possibility that you disturb a crime scene/evidence could cause a prosecution to fail.

As to the “physiology” of lost person searches, there are manuals and guides written based upon sound, scientific and experience data. With all due respect, they are people who devote their lives to this field of study.

Okay you find an injured lost person; do you have the medical, communication and transportation skills and equipment to really help this person?

If you are really interested in helping, join a local SAR Team and obtain the appropriate training.

My 2 cents-
Pete