# conducting searchs and hints



## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Meg O'Donovan said:


> If there are any studies on searching for those with autism, especially ones that give the conclusions for search strategies, could someone provide them, either here or in a new thread? This information is really helpful, not only to me, but to my SAR managers.
> 
> Thank you all very much for the wealth of experience and knowledge that you freely share. It is a great gift.


Meg,

While there are some commonalities with Alzheimer or Autism subjects but each is truly different depending on the exact stage of ALZ or the spectrum of autism. The best suggestion is to take a very complete subject history. Then go back and speak to the family again later as they have a way of remembering things that can very pertinent later. 
We came into an ALZ search 3 days after it was started. We re-conducted the interview and the wife remembered a lot more details and also realized that the subject had taken certain items from the home. We located those articles 15minutes after we started. They were right there in plain view but since no realized their value, they just looked like roadside trash. 

Also talk with the neighbors since they tend to be more honest and see more and may tell you more than family might let on.

Use this info to help set up some of your dog tasks. If you are running trailing dogs you may see them do particular behaviors but it you can tie that behavior with subject behavior then you can get confirmation that your dog is on the right guy and lends credibility to shift the search.

We were searching for one guy who lived in a rural area. The dog would be working great, get to a spot, reverse and head off in another direction. The handler was scratching their head because the dog would basically head off in a straight line but when they came up on a log or stick greater than 2-3 inches in diameter the dog would stop, turn and strike off in another direction. When the handler mentioned this behavior, the family gave a big gasp and told the handler that the subject had an aversion to walking over large sticks. The missing subject saw it as a barrier and when they came up on one, he would turn and walk off in a new direction. The family never thought to mention it until we brought up this curious trailing behavior with the family.

I chased one guy with my dog. This was a city track with the subject having a several hour headstart which now put it into the middle of rush hour. The dog's trucking down the sidewalk but would turn off at different business (predominately gas stations and mini-marts). Some stations we would hit and some we would by-pass and I didn't why. I happened to mention it in an off-hand manner to the police officer who was very familiar with this autism subject these odd hits and misses. He gave me a funny look and said "Sarah, it's not the stores, it's the bathrooms in them." Come to find out the guy had a fascination with bathrooms and would stop to visit every one he could. When I went back and analyzed the route, my dog didn't go to any business that didn't have a public toilet. But the places I went to (as well as the ones I didn't) told the officer that we were on the right track. Now it was just a question of catching up to him which happened approx. 4 miles from the PLS and the subject was returned home.

So handlers need to really be able to read their dog and pay attention to things that happen. They should not be afraid to speak up. It's not only what happens but what doesn't happen. Things that don't make sense to them may make ALOT of sense to someone else.


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## Jim Delbridge (Jan 27, 2010)

I agree completely. 
The family/friend/loved one/care taker interview on the victim can be key in locating the victim. If a search team is large enough they should assign one of their support people to this task at every search possible. If you don't have enough personnel, it's worth leaving a dog team out for a while to interview. I've been the interviewer several times and I usually have several deputies or detectives park behind me taking notes as questions they didn't think to ask pop up.
On a similar note, years back we had Bill Dotson in to train on search management. Myself and another member had heard Bill's lecture several times, so we took rolls in a mock search. When the search team arrived (all who knew me personally), they found me in sandals, shorts, hawaiian shirt, straw hat, sun glasses, and the odor of an O'douls poured all over me and swished in my mouth. The women dog handlers all dissappeared when I whistled and commented they were "purty." The victim was my "wife" who jumped off our boat and waded off into the woods....actually my sister who works graveyard shift and was sleeping happily in a foldling lounge I'd sat out for her. Not one person came to ask me any questions. They made their judgement of me and the situation and wasted hours searching the area my truck pointed towards when I drove them to the area. Da "wife" was only 75 yards in the opposite direction. After 3 hours, Bill let me stumble up and blantantly give them a hint. Night searches can be so much fun.

As a death investigator, I'm extremely nosey and ask lots of questions to better help my doctors try to figure out what happened. I believe I'm this way because the lessons I learned in search interviews. There is an art to it and you have to match up the right personalities for the job, but it can be essential for a successful search.


Jim Delbridge


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Ha! Night searches are a PITA! But you're right about opinions formed. But family may not be exactly honest when you ask questions about alcohol use, drug use, or mental capacity. They either take it as accusatory or don't want to air the family's closet skeletons. 

Wonder if the girls avoided you because they know you sooooo well?


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I would get a copy of the Koester book and keep it in your car and learn "Initial Reflex Tasking" This stuff works. I took his class at the Dupont excercise this year and it was very good. He has a lot more statistics and will be working on a new version, but I gather that will come out maybe in 2015.

Some of the things we have seen on searches for people with degrees of autism spectrum-but all of them can be different so the investigation is all important.

OFTEN 
our experiences:
-evasive
-way up high in trees
-likes water and shiny stuff
-non responsive
-parents can be in denial or don't want the 'embarrasment'

from training/koester notes:
-attracted to bright lights and vehicles (like a parked fire truck with lights on/sirens off)
-hates noises
-all can be different


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

You also have to think outside the box. You make what I call "tiger traps". If you find something the subject is drawn or attracted to then you set up traps using those items. One searcher found out a subject was drawn to blue balloons. He went to the local store and bought a slew of helium-filled blue balloons. He set out a cluster at attraction points (playgrounds, picnic grounds by the water, etc) and would periodically drive by to check them. That's how they found him. Playing with the blue balloons at a park.


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## Meg O'Donovan (Aug 20, 2012)

Thanks to all of you for sharing your knowledge based on experience. I'm reading all of this and taking notes. 
Nancy, what is the title of the Koester book?
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who is grateful for the information you all share on your search experiences. 
Happy holidays to everyone.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Person-B...387682744&sr=8-1&keywords=koester+lost+person


Everyone we know in this neck of the woods swears by it. If you can ever get to one of his lectures it is amazing. The book is very dry, as it is mainly a statistical compilation of lost person data, (and you have to realize that reliability goes down for the cases with smaller sample sizes) but it is a great resource...it has a listing of questions to ask for each type of missing person, some initial planning stages, where they are likely to be found, survivability etc..

It is true though, that we have searches that are completely outside of the predictive areas.


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## Jim Delbridge (Jan 27, 2010)

Sarah Platts said:


> Ha! Night searches are a PITA! But you're right about opinions formed. But family may not be exactly honest when you ask questions about alcohol use, drug use, or mental capacity. They either take it as accusatory or don't want to air the family's closet skeletons.
> 
> Wonder if the girls avoided you because they know you sooooo well?


 
I'd rather search HRD at night in the summer than any other time. I have found that night searches force handlers to truly trust their dogs.

With the SAR K9 world having a much higher percentage of women than men, I'd have been tossed out on my ear long ago if I wasn't always a perfect gentleman. The exercise did force them to question judging by appearrance. 

Jim Delbridge


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I think sometimes a woman can be a better interviewer of the mother of a missing child. There is often a connection that really helps bring out details and trust as this information is so critical and there is often fear that something will "get out" to embarrass the family etc. that holds people back.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

And don't make the interview a "dry" process. Sometimes you should just get off the sheet and just hold a regular conversation. Reminisce past occurrences involving the subject. Have them describe a typical day or week with the person. What happens and when. If you know your subject matter, you can cover the questions on the sheet without making it seem that all you are looking for is fill-in-the-block answers.

The thing with Bob's book is that sometimes his statistical base is a very small one. Some areas have as few as 2 or 5 subjects used to form the guidelines. I know he's adding more as more hit the search scene but just something to keep in the back of your mind. The higher the statistical base the more relevancy it will have. And then there are always the ones that break the mold so don't get tunnel vision. But its a very good reference book for search managers.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Meg,

The other thing you can do is set up mock searches using real ones as the basis. You can pull situations from anywhere in the country or world and adapt to your location. I see things all the time about how the subject was located wherever and the dogs (for what ever reason) didn't locate them. I use that as a training tool to set up similar scenarios to see what my dogs would do.

For instance, we use to always set up trailing problems with the subject going away from staging. So once I set up the problem where it started out in the woods and went back to staging. The dog did great until he realize we were heading back to the vehicles and then started second-guessing himself. Spent several minutes backing himself up and hitting the track differently because he had been programmed that trails only "lead away". Finally, I gave him some verbal encouragement and he completed the track locating the subject hiding in my van. That broke the glass ceiling for him and he never again hesitated to go back to the subject's house or PLS if that's where the track ran.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Sarah, absolutely - he even discusses that in his lecture and oft times people are a mix of two or more "types". It is the first start at an excellent tool. 

I have seen a planner ignore some incoming dog teams to "follow the book"......won't go into that one but, while the outcome would not have changed, it sure would have saved about a day of searching.


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

Interesting stuff, thanks


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

How to make cheap write in the rain paper as buying the name brand stuff gets expensive:

Get a plastic container or a new paint can with a sealing lid. Put in whatever notebooks, memo books, etc that you want to water proof or make resistant. Pour in Thompson's water seal and close the lid. I let mine soak for a day but the guy told me he's had his in anywhere from a week or two without issues.

Remove and press out the excess. Let drip dry on some newspaper and then I fan-folded them open to help speed the drying time. I also put them where they were getting the fan forced air off the wood stove. Don't bother trying to seperate the pages. THey will seperate on their own as they dry. If the covers or backs are plastic coated you will have to wipe them off as they don't dry clean will remain greasy feeling. Mine took a day to dry but times will vary based on drying conditions.

You can then either pour the Thompson's product back into the main can or save it in the sealing container for further use or put on your deck in the spring.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Now that is a good one...have to try it.....

For a cheap smartphone cover just put the phone in a good ziplock baggie...your finger will work through the plastic even if it requires a bare finger/capacitive stylus. I have one folder of "search apps" and one of them is a notepad I can "talk to" to save notes that way.


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