Mock Search and Rescue Recovery

[Daryl]

Mock Search and Rescue Recovery Retrieved from http://www.wytv.com/news/local/16542211.html

Even in a mock wandering situation, the clock is ticking. Within a matter of minutes, local law enforcement, Mahoning County Sheriff's Senior Service Unit, Dive Team, and U.S. Search and Rescue Recovery personnel are in place. Looking for a resident, who wandered away from Copeland Oaks Retirement Community in Sebring. Which is a real possibility on the Community's 250 acres of land, woods and lakes.

"We will do an outlying search, we can also dive into the pond that Copeland Oaks has, in hopes of recovering this person. Time is critical, so the quicker we can get them, the better.", says Jennifer Prox with the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office Project Search and Recovery.

U.S. SARR sets up a command post and media center, the dive team suits up, and Maximus the rescue dog is on the scent. Before too long, they're able to find the person they were searching for.

Today's mock search and recovery mission was over in a matter of hours, but in a real world emergency, these folks know it takes time, patience, and the cooperative efforts from many different agencies to be successful.

"It's nice to have a team like this in the event we ever do have a situation develop, that we can contact them and they're in here in a short period of time to help us with the recovery.", says Copeland Oaks Executive Director Philip Braisted.

Ron Wisbith started U.S. Search and Rescue Recovery Corps nearly 40 years ago in the tri-state area. And he knows how important these drills are.

"You can read a book from now 'til Doomsday but until you get out there and what we call 'dirt time', get out there in the field and actually practice it and get the experience, that's what counts.", says Wisbith.

Because they know people will be counting on them when a person really goes missing.