On any given day across the United States, as many as 2,000 missing person cases are reported. Steps taken at the very start, in those precious first minutes, are critical. Search efforts, usually coordinated among multiple agencies and volunteers, can easily go awry as responders first on the scene may not have access to authoritative, comprehensive, guidelines to conduct lost person searches.
That’s where we come in: the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate is working with dbs Productions — S&T’s partner in search and rescue (SAR) research, publications, and training — to develop tools that put decades of historical, geographical and statistical search data at searchers’ fingertips.
Join S&T’s Dr. Angela Ervin and dbs Productions’ Bob Koester on Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. EST for a Facebook Live Tech Talk on the Lost Person Locator suite of SAR resources, including:
- Lost Person Behavior mobile app:
Now available for download on Apple iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon, this app provides step-by-step search guidance, investigative questions and behavioral profiles for more than 41 missing person subject types — including lost hikers, children, and dementia patients. It also identifies high probability areas where an individual may be found and has filters for ecoregion and terrain. - FIND software:
Integrates mapping, GIS, search theory, and incident management to predict the likely locations of missing subjects. FIND suggests the best deployment of teams, tracks personnel, and manages search clues. Once a team debriefs, the software updates all relevant information using GPS tracks and search theory. - Search and Rescue Collection Analysis Tool (SACRAT):
Web-hosted data collection tool for use at the end of a missing person search, as well as an analysis tool after many searches. Data is automatically collected from FIND and placed into SARCAT to allow search managers or incident commanders to print out detailed incident reports.
The interview will be streamed live via S&T’s Facebook account, and we welcome your questions and comments. Join us and ask your questions about this resource on Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. EST.