Introduction to Search
Management for Team Leaders
Developed as part of the National
Emergency Services Curriculum Project
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Four Factors Making
Emergency Response
Necessary
• A lag in the alert of mission personnel
– Limit your search area quickly
• The odds of a victim surviving as time goes on
• Size of the search area
• Available information
– Information is fragile
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Matching Response
with Need
• Are less than 6 hours of daylight left?
• Is the victim very young or old?
• Does the victim have a known or potential
medical problem?
• Is there only one person involved?
• Are weather conditions bad now, or were
they when the person, boat or aircraft went
missing?
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Matching Response with
Need Continued
• Was the victim poorly equipped to handle
the environment - including the
airworthiness of the aircraft or
seaworthiness of the boat?
• Is the subject inexperienced in the
environment and/or the local area?
• Are known hazardous conditions in the
area?
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Matching Response with
Need Continued
• Is the objective missing in an area in which
there have been numerous SAR cases?
• Is the individual reasonably overdue,
measured by standards normally used to
determine that someone is overdue
• Does this search pass the SANITY
CHECK?
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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SAR Responsibility in the
United States
• Navigable Waterways = USCG
• Single State, Land = Local Law
Enforcement normally
• Single State, Aircraft = State OEM (Office
of Emergency Management) or designee
– Often CAP is the designee
• Multiple State Searches = AFRCC
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Primary Resources
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Air Force Units
Coast Guard Units
Mountain Rescue Association
Civil Air Patrol
Explorer SAR Teams
National Park Service
And other such agencies…
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Secondary Resources
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Red Cross
Salvation Army
Amateur Radio Emergency Service
Local Law Enforcement
Fire Departments
Military
And other such agencies…
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Search Planning
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Area of Possibility (AOP)
Last Known Point (LKP)
Point Last Seen (PLS)
Probability of Area (POA)
Probability of Detection (POD)
Probability of Success (POS)
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Area of Possibility
• How far could the missing person or aircraft
gotten from the point last scene using the
available information?
– Can be a rather large area
– To many unknowns often make the worst case
look real bad
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
10
Last Known Point
• LKP is the last spot at which we can
definitely establish the victim’s presence by
things like:
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Radio reports
Telephone calls
Trail Logs
Physical information like the victims car or
equipment located
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Point Last Seen
• PLS is the spot anyone actually saw (Radar
skin paint counts) the missing
person/aircraft. PLS is established by
witnesses.
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Probability Of Area (POA)
• A mathematical prioritization of search
areas by the mission staff.
• Normally follow the Mattson Consensus
• A tool that incorporates the experience of
mission staff.
• Basically an educated guess
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Probability Of Detection
• The percentage accuracy of searchers based
on historical data.
– Trained searchers should have a higher POD
than untrained searchers
– Relevant local data should supersede national
historical data
– Searchers try to gain a high POD for a search
area before closing a search
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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Probability of Success
• POA x POD = POS
• Just a tool, remembering that not only is
historical data used, but also the guesses of
the mission staff.
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
15
Information Gathering
• Be a good reporter. Answer the following
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Who
What
When
Where
Why
How
• Play twenty questions (See Reference Text)
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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How is information
Gathered?
• Searching an area
– Clues
– Lack of Clues
– De-briefing crews
• Interviews
• Good press relations
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
17
Processing Information
• Information and Knowledge
– Paper processing
– Computer processing
• Map oriented or Tracking Programs
• Management Assistance programs
– Formula or Number Crunching
– Personnel Tracking & Processing
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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7 Steps to Start a Search
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Start a Log
Gain Cooperation
Find out what has been done already
Get control of the physical facilities
Start posting information
Get a grip on Search Strategy
Plan for staff turnover and future operational
periods
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
19
Search Management Tasks
• Every task that a team leader accomplishes
can be related to search management.
• Remember that accuracy counts, and nothing
found is still information found
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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QUESTIONS?
THINK SAFETY
SRCHMGTI.ppt
Last Revised: 10 June 2003
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