I don't believe I ever indicated that one never operates at night. I said It Depends. I believe I also stated, quite explicitly that "Caves and mines are a very specific environment, and require specific tactics and training. "

I have no doubt you were. I was merely pointing out that clue awareness and clue handling have become much more emphasized that they were in the past. To a considerable degree, this is the result of work done down in your former stomping grounds. You no doubt know Dr. David Lovelock. He, among others, has been instrumental in developing the concepts of POA (Probability of Area) and POD (Probability of Detection), and how clues can be best utilized. In my experience, clue awareness is still one of the weak spots that most searchers have, even well trained ones. There is too much tendency to rush up the trail, get there fast, etc.

If the NPS was going to build a new facility, and asked you to survey the site to make sure they wouldn't disturb any archaeological resources, would it be better to do the survey in the daytime, or at night?

I didn't say you were oblivious. But I do think rescuer safety does get more emphasis nowadays, than was the case in the past.

Is it ever not an issue?

A few years ago I lost a friend, who was piloting a State Trooper helo. A Trooper and a rescue subject also died that night. In the inevitable 20/20 hindsight and investigation, it became clear that both the pilot and the Trooper management had been pushing the envelope far too hard for a long time. That mission should never have been launched. We still fly in helicopters, but there are now a much more robust risk/benefit analysis and mission approval guidelines in place. People will still die in helicopters, but hopefully not quite as many.


We do the best we can. Not all SAR stories have happy endings.