SAR workers are volunteers and there aren't strict requirements on fitness...though it's taken seriously by any group I'm familiar with. A volunteer might only be involved in a handful of searches a year...and an event that big would likely draw out even the most inactive members.

He was right though. There's no substitute for 'dirt on boots'. If the terrain is bad, then it just takes you longer to search it...even if that means taking 4 hours to move 1 mile in a straight line.