This is a search for a person (Mickey Shunick) here in Lafayette, La. This is a criminal case and as such, some information cannot be divulged.

Volunteers reported to Blackham Coliseum (the Command Post) by 0800. Breakfast is provided and each volunteer is required to complete a Registration Form that enables background checks to be completed if the LE Authorities suspect there is a reason (Perpetrators join search teams to get information).

I went very well prepared and with the SAR, Military, and LE training and experience that I have, I was appointed the Team Leader for 16 foot searchers (Infantry) and 2 ATV's (Cavalry) that was run by 3 persons. The military terms make it easier to explain what we did.

Per this piece of the country, Searchers need to bring heavy pants, boots preferred, long socks(to blouse pants over boots or shoes), a wide brimmed hat, Eye protection glasses, at least 2 bandannas (1 for wiping sweat and 1 for keeping wet, around the neck and draping down the back, under the shirt, to keep the Searcher cooler. A walking stick, a machete is very useful, toilet paper or wipes, Poncho (no rain but I spread mine for ground cover for the ladies for lunch), Zip Lock Bags for cell phone, wallet items, search plans (I virtually dissolved my information sheets with my body perspiration), a T-shirt or appropriate undershirt (we shed our long sleeve shirts during lunch and helped ourselves cool down some).

Prior to starting the search, I briefed the team on all of the available information that had been provided. I also stressed the dangers we all faced from the heat. Instructed each member to keep watching the members on each side of them to insure that we were all continuing to sweat (aka: Cooling off). We had to MedEvac 1 member due to post op discomfort having to do with a previous spinal surgery, and 4 members started showing symptoms of Heat Exhaustion. Every team member kept watch on their adjacent partners and advised me of their observations before anybody got to a critical stage of Heat Exhaustion.

I had the team wet down bandannas (my 3 bandannas went to 3 Ladies). On Scene, I had everybody blouse their trousers into their boots and socks (keeps brush and creepy crawlers out).

Before we started the search, upon arriving on scene, and unloading the two ATV's, I used the ATV's to do basic Recon for entry points to the search area. Myself and the Assistant Team Leader scouted on foot to also look at entry points and brush thickness. The team penetrated the tree and vine tangled brush and formed a line that started wlking forward. Separation was 10-20 ft between each members and the going was extremely slow with heavy use of machete's and walking sticks being required. The ATV's completed the quick recon and then nosed over a line parallel to the edge of the trees and brush. I directed them to conduct a Parallel Multiple (PM) Search Pattern parallel to the search party line and with a space tracking of 35-50 feet. This provided the "Infantry" to reform our line everytime we reached one of these "search Lanes". When the ATV's completed this PM, they rotated their PM 90degrees and started making "transit lanes for the slower, more thoroughly checking "Infantry" to make use of. When we had gone forward and found our way blocked by a 6ft Hurricane Fence, we reformed a new line, rotated 90degrees and started the new direction in a new area of the Search and again used the ATV's as "Cavalry" to scout ahead and run the PM Patterns as before. When we ran onto a Coulee (stream), we broke for lunch.

We used the ATV's to bring the lunches up to the team versus withdrawing and having to fight our way back to start again after lunch. I used my poncho as a ground Cloth for the Ladies, we resoaked all the Bandannas to cool eveerybody down, and had everybody rehydrate. I also walked around and talked to everybody and looked them over for sweating (Heat Exhaustion Symptoms). After Lunch, we reformed and started working our way back to a point offset from our Starting Point.

We checked the Coulee and under a bridge thoroughly as we transferred over to start a sweep of a new area. It was at this point that I MedEvac'd (via the ATV's) the first Heat case and the Post Op case. We reformed and completed a sweep parallel to the Coulee, on the opposite side. By the time we had swept the area that we could reach, I had 3 more Heat Exhaustion cases MedEvac'd and I wasn't feeling too well myself. I declared this Search Effort was over.

We went back to the command Post via Air Condition Van and Debriefed with the Search Organization that was orchestrating search efforts with our LE Resources.

Miscellaneous:
1) I wish I had brought my 2 FRS Radios for myself and the Assistant Team Leader who was at the other end of the search line. If others had brought FRS Radios, we could have had direct comms with the ATV's (Cavalry).

2) We advised all Team Members to wash their search clothes by themselves so as not to cross contaminate the search clothing (possibly with bugs, Poison Oak and/or Ivey) with other cloth laundry items. We also recommended two rinses.

3) I brought Bug Spray, whistle, machete, food, water, and a few other items that were in fact provided. The ladies greatly appreciated the fact that I had brought Toilet Paper and another Gentleman had brought Wet Wipes.

There is no doubt that I will think of something else later and will update as these forgotten points are remembered.

Very nice report!

Nice.

1. there is a commercial neck wrap product, designed to absorb water and release it over time - might be useful.

2. FRS radios are so cheap ( and effective) its silly not to have 4 in your kit.

3. No gloves?

I didn't use my leather gloves as I loaned them to one of the ladies in the team. I knew I was forgetting to list an important item but couldn't remember!!

Nice report. It is certainly challenging to whip up a bunch of volunteers into a coherent, effective group. I was struck by your 0800 assembly time. In Arizona, where I have done most of my SAR, that would be impossibly late. We usually began operations at first light (0430 at this time of year). If at all possible, and often it wasn't, we would conclude by 0930 or thereabouts, as it began to get really warm. Such early times are much more feasible with an organized group - general public volunteers not so much.

I get the impression that you were looking for a body or something of similar size. In what would evidently be rather brushy and overgrown terrain, a 10 foot interval is pretty decent, but 20 feet offers a lot of opportunity to miss critical items, but I am just wildly speculating, since I have never seen, much less operated in your terrain and vegetation. I am not trying to be harsh, but it is amazing what searchers can miss, even in a close interval line search

Hikermor: this was a great area to search when looking at a map but the brush and dewberry plants was so thick that it was obvious, by the trails we left that no one had been back there in a long time. I very soon got the feeling that we were being used in a way to be seen. A perimeter search proved nobody had been in there. Search objects were as large as a person to as small as an ear ring. That's as much as I can say on this public forum.

Another item I forgot to mention; Backpacks!! I used a "patrol pack for the search I led. It had a camel back bladder and sufficient room for a roll of toilet paper, first aid kit and 2 MRE's, and a few small items.

It had no frame. An internal frame pack would have worked but and external frame pack (eg: ALICE Pack) would have been a disaster. An external frame in the dense brush and vines would have had to have been dropped within 20 feet, in my opinion, thus leaving behind the resources that the pack contained.

[quote=wildman80 I very soon got the feeling that we were being used in a way to be seen. [/quote]

I'll bet that a lot of searches are started more for "flying the flag" than any real chance of finding the object of the search.

But you never know. We were called out on one occasion and the deputy explained very candidly that Border Patrol trackers had followed the victim's trail out to the road where he had gotten into a car and was probably downtown where the real search was concentrated. He wanted us to search for a bit so that all bases would be covered.

We agreed and began a systematic search, starting from the last known point. Within twenty minutes, we found the victim, wandering on the other side of the road. You just never know....