Buckeye Search and Rescue Dogs does not self-deploy.
This means that if we hear of a situation that may require our services, we do not simply show up on-site. We don’t have the authority to go onto someone’s private property on our own. Also we could inadvertently interfere with the investigation or the search operation itself, or even put ourselves or someone else in harm’s way.
When BSARD is requested by an Incident Commander or their designated representative, we will dispatch one or more canine/handler teams to the area of operations, as well as whatever planning, operations and support staff fit the situation (depending upon the request). In large-scale searches, or in those rare situations where we cannot field enough teams for a given search request, we can bring many more K9 and ground search teams into a search response by using our mutual aid affiliations and state and multi-state networking alliances.
Who may call BSARD to a Missing Person Incident
BSARD adheres to the standard Incident Control System (ICS) and will respond only to a request from an authorized representative of one of the entities listed here:
- The Law Enforcement (LE) organization with jurisdiction over the incident.
- The managing Fire Services organization responding to the incident.
- EMA or similar Emergency Services with oversight of the incident.
- The Incident Commander (IC) or on-site Search Manager (SM) or their authorized subordinate.
- A mutual aid request made by the senior member of another Search and Rescue Organization that is itself operating under the authority of the IC (and with the knowledge and approval of the IC/SM).
If you have the authority as described to call us out, call us at the Emergency Number listed in the banner above as soon as possible. Normally you do not have to pull current search personnel from the field because our K9s are trained to be scent-specific and will ignore all but the target scent they are seeking. If the operation is a water search, we ask that you not put divers down until we have searched if at all possible.
If you do not have authority over the search, such as a family member or friend of a missing person, contact the detective or agency in charge of finding the person. If they are receptive to using our services, feel free to give them our name and number as an available resource. We already have relationships with a large number of emergency services agencies in the region.
When BSARD Receives the Call
The BSARD member receiving the request for service will collect as much initial information about the search as possible. Based on the search conditions, the personnel available to us at that time, and any other pertinent variables, they will determine whether our team can reasonably help the search effort:
If so, the member and the caller will coordinate a time (either ASAP or deferred) and location for us to muster. The member will then dispatch the applicable and available team(s) to meet at the muster site at the designated time.
If, on the other hand, the member determines that our service is not applicable to the incident, or we do not have the right team(s) available, they will tell the caller as soon as possible and attempt to direct the caller to other resources that may better fit the situation.
Arriving on Scene
When the the first BSARD member(s) arrives at the muster site, our senior member will report to the designated contact (usually a member of the ICS Operations Section). That BSARD member will act as the initial single-point liaison between our teams and the designated member of the Incident Command staff. They will attempt to gather as much additional information as possible. This will include a description of and details about the missing person, a chronology of the events leading up to the search, any known hazards within the search area, and any other pertinent details. The ICS Safety Officer will be asked to locate an emergency veterinarian nearby.
Information gathered will be passed on to other team members as they arrive and the command tree is finalized and operational. The teams will get themselves ready and go into staging status.
Ideally the BSARD team will coordinate with the ICS Planning Section to determine the initial tasking plan. The objective is to determine the best plan of operation to raise the Probability of Success to as high a level as possible, given the current conditions.
Once the initial plan has been approved the teams are ready to move into the Operations Area on the ICS supervisor’s command.
Safety, Operational Security, and Confidentiality
- BSARD members will follow the in-force safety plan to the best of their ability.
- In the event a BSARD team locates the missing person, or discovers a clue, our members will follow crime scene preservation protocols to the best of their ability and will communicate the location as confidentially as possible.
- BSARD members will not communicate any privileged mission information to bystanders, friends or family of the missing person(s), or the media. All requests for information will be forwarded to the ICS Information Officer.
- BSARD members will not post any information about the Search Operation on social media.
Tasking the Search Teams
The BSARD member directing the field teams is called the Base Operations Manager (BOM) in our terminology. They will deploy the K9 teams as outlined in the tasking plan and typically will take over as the single-point liaison between BSARD and the designated supervisor from the ICS Operations Section. The BOM will provide feedback, status updates or other information as requested by the team’s ICS supervisor.
The teams will continue to be cycled through staging, task, and rehab according to the plan until the search objective is reached, until conditions dictate a change in plans, or until released by the IC.
For the last several years BSARD has been using CALTOPO as our operational mapping system. This system allows us to track human field resources in real time (assuming cell coverage). If other resources within the Missing Persons Incident also use that system, we can share our maps for a broader view of the Incident as it progresses. Our K9s wear Garmin Alpha GPS collars which allow us to track K9 activities on a hand-held GPS receiver and merge them into the map once the team returns from the field.
Demobilization and Follow-up
Upon completion of BSARD’s portion of the search effort, a final verbal report will be issued to the IC. We will pick up after ourselves, collect our gear, and depart the search area.
As soon as it can be collated, we will provide a formal written After Action Report to the designated recipient identified by the Incident Commander (or to the leader of the calling team for a mutual assistance call), typically as an electronic document via email.