Ron Laughlin Real Estate Blog

Back again.  Thought I would write a few lines about one of my interests…… wilderness search and rescue.

I am a member of Black Diamond Search and Rescue.    Black Diamond is credified by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management in wilderness search and rescue (SAR) and is made up of several smaller groups from a 12 county area of southwest Virginia.   This area consist mainly of mountainous terrain in the Appalachian Mountain chain that runs from northern Georgia, through Tennessee and Virginia.  Most widely known for the Appalachian Trial, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and The Blueridge Parkway there are millions of tourist that visit and play in these mountains every year.  With 100’s of miles of hiking and backpacking trials it is inevitable that some of these folks will get lost. It is our job to find them.  However, not only do we search for missing hikers but also lost children, mentally impaired adults, downed aircraft, lost hunters, or any other folks who go missing.   We are not law enforcement and do not search for criminals.  We opperate strictly as a volunteer group and work at the behest of local and state authorities.  Unlike most sheriff departments, fire departments, state police, or city police, we are specially trained and certified in various types of search techniques. 

Side Notes: 

1. If you have an interest in visiting one of the most beautiful areas of the country check out Grayson Highlands State Park.   Visit this link:  http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/gra.shtml

2. I live and work in Sevierville, TN but choose to participate in SAR in VA primarily because the State of VA has a very active department of emergency management and invest alot of time and money into our efforts.   So much of the mountains of TN are under the umbrella of the national parks system.  Emergency situations in any national park are handled strictly by park ranger with no outside assistance.

To be member of a SAR team members have to pass basic survival and search techniques.  From there members can specialize in areas such has mantracking, K9 teams, and vertical rescue.   I have choosen to specialize in K9.  Below you will see my K9 partner Briar.   He is a 10 month old yellow lab. 

Taking a break

Briar will eventually be an air scent dog.  He will hopefully be fully trained and certified by the time he is two years old.  It takes a big commitment from the dog and handler to get the dog team ready to be a SAR dog, but the benefits in a search can be amazing.   There are three kinds of search dogs:  trackers, trailers and air scent.  It is Briar’s job to work off lead in a designated area to pick up the scent of any person that has passed through the area, find that person, return to his handler (me) and take me to the person he has found.  Air scent dogs are not scent specific dogs.  They are used to clear a large area quickly.  All of our dogs are high energy and are expected to be like the Energizer Bunny and keep going and going.  Briar is the only lab in our group.  Other dogs are german shephards, malinois (Belgian Shephards). 

Trackers and trailers are scent specific dogs.  They are given an article of clothing from the victim, assigned an area where the victim was last seen and off they go.  Trackers and trailers normally work on lead dragging their handler behind them.  The most widely know breed for this duty is the bloodhound although other breeds make excellent tracking dogs. 

The ability of any search dog to find and follow scent is affected dramatically by environmental conditions.  Dry, windy conditions tend to disperse scent more quickly and may make other search techniques more effective.  Dog’s noses are 500 times more sensitive than humans.  Good search dogs can find a drop of blood in a 1 acre field. 

This is just a brief summary of what I do in SAR.  A good SAR team is a well oiled team of individuals who are good to great outdoorsman, with different specialities, and manyyears of experience,  bonded to together and dedicated to finding lost persons.  I know that if I were ever lost in the woods in Southwest VA there are people who will find me and find me fast before the elements take their toll.