Rescue Search Gear

Assignment: You are getting ready to leave after camping with friends at Ausable Chasm Campground. It is a sunny fall morning with expected afternoon showers. Temperature is expected to drop to 50 degrees during the night. Suddenly a woman comes up to your camp area inquiring about her 6-year-old daughter. She explains that her daughter (Jane) went missing about 10 minutes ago. The girl ran off into the woods with her dog.

The terrain is rocky and bushy. The girl has black hair, a blue shirt, and blue jeans. The dog is a golden retriever (Silver). Your camp leader says he will contact the camp authorities. In the meantime, he asks you and three of your friends to conduct a hasty search in the area the girl went missing. You need to inform other campers of the missing girl's name and description. If she if found, she must be brought back to your campsite. Otherwise everyone must return to the campsite in 30 minutes to go over a new plan.

Everyone must call her name and the dog's name and listen for a response. Look for clues.

• What do you need for the first 30 minutes?
• What clothing and equipment do you need for a longer search later if she is not found? Think through your clothing, shoes, and ready pack items. Also the weather, terrain, and possible needs of subject.

The things that you would need for the first 30 minutes are good hiking shoes. Obviously you would not be wearing flip flops during this search. Next you would need water resistant clothing just in case you will perspire while you are searching during the day. You would definitely need lots of water because you cannot be dehydrated throughout the whole search. You maybe want a whistle on hand. If there are rainy showers during the search you will need raincoats or ponchos. You should have a ready pack to put all these extra items somewhere so your hands are free.

If the Jane is not found yet and you need a longer search time then you will need others items in addition. If the search goes for a long enough time that it starts to get dark and the temperature starts to drop you will need some other layered clothing on hand. Another thing you will need when it gets dark is a flashlight. You still of course need your hiking shoes because it is a rocky and busy terrain (try to pick the easiest path if you can). Have more water on hand throughout the rest of the search because being hydrated is a vital state you should be in. If you don’t necessarily have a ton of water bottles you could have a water filtration device to make other water around you clean because even if the water looks clear and not dirty there might be bacteria in the water that you should not consume.