I mention caves and mines only to point out that at times and places you must inevitably operate in the dark. Caves,and especially mines, are very specialized and unique environments, with often subtle hazards.

I am not at all kidding when I label myself as a "geezer." i was reminded recently that precisely forty years ago, to the day, I was heavily involved in an epic, protracted search for Paul Fugate, NPS ranger, last seen walking down the road at Chiricahua National Monument, AZ in 1980. To this day, no trace of him has been found. So I am the voice of SAR ops past. I do not claim to be totally current on very recent developments and trends.

Although, frankly, then, as now, we were very aware of clues and traces and were definitely on the lookout for them. As an archaeologist, hopefully keen-eyed, this came naturally to me.

Nor were we oblivious to safety concerns. I, and many of my colleagues, were used to hiking at night even before getting into SAR. If one hikes at dusk, allowing the eyes to become well adapted to the dark, it is surprising how little additional light is needed. If the moon is out, so much the better.

I would say that safety has always been a concern in SAR. Certainly our group paid attention to proper training, appropriate equipment, and correct procedures - vetting and advancement to full operational capability did not come automatically by any means.

If safety is really an issue, by all means do not venture anywhere near a helicopter. Never mind hiking at night. The only SAR related memorial service I have ever attended was for two helicopter pilots, returning from a SAR mission. Thankfully, they had unloaded about four searchers just before they crashed.

I can recall one SAR related fatality. One of our best members contracted valley fever, traced to dust inhaled while driving desert roads while working extensively on a training session - all done during daylight hours.

With time, I became aware of what I termed The Golden Hour - the time right around sunrise when crews, usually out for most of the night, and right in the search area, contacted the object of the search.

There are a lot of people out there who are probably grateful that we responded quickly to their situation. Of course, there are also those to whose situation our response made no real difference at all. Sometimes you make an enormous difference, and sometimes you don't.

Good discussion