Search & Rescue Dogs

Search teams’ blast for the pensioner who sparked alert Retrieved from http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/cardiff-news/2008/05/27/search-teams-blast-for-the-pensioner-who-sparked-alert-91466-20976224/

A PENSIONER who went on a weekend jaunt without telling his wife has come under fire from search and rescue teams.

Robert Brooks, 81, left his house in Sully on the Saturday Cardiff City played in the FA Cup final and did not contact anyone for two days.

The Echo featured Mr Brooks’ story last week after a call from his wife Robina, 78, who wanted to thank the people who helped her blind husband on his way into the city centre, which culminated in him staying at The Big Sleep hotel for two nights.

But Mr Brooks’ unplanned trip led to a massive search operation.

Nick McAllister, of the Western Beacons Mountain Search and Rescue Team, said Mr Brooks’ “jolly” could have had serious implications on others in genuine need of emergency help.

“The massive search operation by police, two mountain rescue teams, the coastguard, a police helicopter and search- and-rescue dog teams was needless,” said Mr McAllister, who is part of a team which covers the largest area of any rescue team in the UK and includes urban as well as rural searches.

“The mountain rescue teams alone involved more than 200 man hours spent in the search for a man who had gone on a jolly.

“These teams are made up of volunteers who take no monetary reward for their time and, in fact, invest money in supplying their own equip-ment.

“If Mr Brooks had to pay for this search at £10 per man hour, I’m sure that he might have got in touch a little sooner.

“But he did not take this into account and enjoyed a good night’s sleep while I and 15 other volunteers spent the night looking for him.

“Neither did he contact his family the following morning, which resulted in 25 mountain rescue personnel spending Sunday searching for him after four hours’ sleep. Also, while we searched for Mr Brooks, we had a call-out in Ystradfellte in the Brecon Beacons to a person with leg injuries who’d fallen in the waterfalls area.

“This call-out required 20 additional people and a rescue helicopter from RAF Chivenor to be called to help.”

Mr Brooks, of Hayes Road, Sully, who celebrates his 37th wedding anniversary with his wife on Thursday, said: “I’m afraid that’s just hard luck. I never expected anyone to come looking for me.”

Mrs Brooks said: “He did not think about what he was doing. I handed a letter into Barry Police Station to thank them for what they and everyone did. This was an emergency because I didn’t know where he was.”

I always find these cases interesting;
Is the mountain rescue team saying that we should always let people know where we are going - just in case someone reports us missing and sparks a search for us, even if we are not actually lost? I love Mr Brooks' comment “I’m afraid that’s just hard luck. I never expected anyone to come looking for me.”

Looking at the ACPO Guidance on the investigation of missing persons cases it is quite clear that whilst there is a duty for the police to search, the missing person also has the right to go missing if s/he chooses...

2.1 Human Rights Issues:
This Agreement respects human rights and has been considered in relation to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
(ECHR), the Human Rights Act, 1998, which incorporates much of the ECHR, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
The rights and freedoms that may be relevant to this Agreement are:
Article 2 – Right to life
There is an obligation on the Police Service to respond effectively to all reports of missing persons to minimise the number of incidents that end in loss of life or harm to the missing
person or others.
Article 3 – Prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment
Article 4 – Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
Article 5 – Right to liberty and security
Article 8 – Right to respect for private and family life
When investigating the circumstances of any disappearance, intrusion into the life of the missing person or his or her family will be taken into account. Such intrusion will be
proportionate. It is particularly pertinent where an individual disappears deliberately: the right to do so will be respected, but it will be balanced with the rights of the family and the wider community.

My personal opinion is that in this case, by publicly lambasting Mr Brooks, the balance has gone too far to what is best for the wider community (i.e. saving SAR volunteers time, using a valuable resource that might have been needed elsewhere) and is not respecting everyones' right to go whereever they choose, whenever they choose, without telling anyone if they don't want to - including 81 year old blind men!

I know the SAR-L list often has such discussions, as do many outdoor/mountaineering forums - always trying to work out a good balance.