Geocaching as a SAR Training Tool

Guest Author: Rick Sylvia

“Base, this is team Bravo. We have arrived at our task location, have a ‘ find’ and are awaiting further instructions”.

“Bravo, this is Base. Roger the find, stand by for new coordinates”

Admittedly, the radio conversation above isn’t between Geocachers. Not exactly, anyway. But it could be between members of a Wilderness Search and Rescue team on a navigation and clue awareness training exercise. Beyond that difference, though, the SAR training exercise is really just Geocaching, or, as they prefer to call it, orienteering and clue awareness training.

Orienteering is critical to SAR operations. Unlike high profile SAR as seen on the nightly news where helicopters pluck stranded climbers off of a snow covered mountain summit, most SAR missions involve far more “search” than “rescue”. In fact, on the East Coast, the search phase can be as much as 95 percent or more of the SAR effort and can last for multiple days. But once the missing person is found, it is not uncommon for them to be in good enough physical shape to simply walk out of the woods with the search team.

In place of caches, SAR training exercises use pre-planted “clues”. The clue can be anything that indicates the presence of human passage. It can be as subtle as the transference of dirt that shook loose from boot treads while climbing over a boulder. Or, it can be as obvious as a dropped article of clothing or hiking gear.

While training, clues will have been pre-placed at various coordinates within the training area, which can encompass many square acres. A glove, for example, can be left on the bank of a stream, simulating the scenario of a lost winter hiker who stopped to try to rest or rehydrate. “Base”, or the search managers, can radio to a “field team” a set of coordinates with instructions to go to the area and radio back information about what they find. In effect, the field team has coordinates and are using a variety of orienteering skills along with their GPS, topographic maps and compasses to go find that site and see what’s there. Voila! Geocaching!

Admittedly, in the world of SAR we only use large acreages of unpopulated woods, whereas a cache can be hidden in very populated and urban areas. There’s also no log books, item exchanges and that sort of thing, but the concept is otherwise very similar. So similar, in fact, that a lot of SAR personnel use Geocaching as a way to hone their skills when not training with their SAR groups. The clues are already hidden as caches. They simply get coordinates from the web site and begin the hunt. In this way, individual SAR training can take place on any day at any time.

But even when training within the SAR group takes place, real Geocaching isn’t that far off the beaten path. As searchers, SAR resources are trained to be keenly observant of their surroundings, and be thorough in their search for clues. As a result, caches are sometimes accidentally found. And, “yes”, with SAR personnel being “mugglers” they are sometimes opened, but only once it’s clear that the item is a cache and therefore safe to handle.

Why would SAR resources have to be so cautious when approaching an object in the woods? In “real world” situations, handling the item could destroy valuable evidence for Law Enforcement if the situation later turns out to be a crime scene, not just a missing person. Even items that seem like trash, such as an empty drink container, are treated respectfully. Finger prints or other biological evidence could be destroyed, or yours put in it’s place. As a well meaning SAR resource, you really don’t want to suddenly be wrapped up in the middle of a police investigation as a possible suspect, or worse, become the person who destroyed what little evidence there might have been.

It’s not just about evidence, though. Handling clues can be dangerous to your health, as the criminal activity of meth production explodes (pun intended). As you approach the item, you don’t know what’s in or on the container. If it were a part of meth production, or contains by-products from the cooking process, it could easily explode killing or seriously injuring you and the people around you.

For these reasons, clues are called in to Base before being approached too closely or physically handled. If Base doesn’t know what it is, it’s a safe bet that it’s not part of their training exercise, and it’s given a wide berth. But, now and then, someone will recognize it as a cache, and it’s opened and examined – not as part of the SAR exercise, but for the simple fun of finding a cache!

Just recently, two caches were found while an actual search mission was taking place at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia. At that time, the SAR resources didn’t have the luxury of time to stop searching and examine the caches. All of their attention had to be focused on continuing the search for the missing person, who was eventually found.

More than one SAR resource has gotten interested in geocaching by stumbling onto a cache while training or on a real mission. I’ve also heard experienced SAR personnel suggest to newcomers that they get involved in geocaching in order to become proficient with the use of their GPS unit. Regardless of the reason and the methods, geocaching and SAR training often have a lot in common.

About the Author:

Rick Sylvia is a rookie Geocacher. He is also the Training Officer for Tidewater Search and Rescue in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.

Web Site:  http://www.tsar.org/