"Get your gear together, you're going for a walk in the woods."

   The phone call went out on Saturday morning, February 26, 2005.
   With the call came the information. A mock search on  a logging road in the  Coos County Forest, South of Beaver Hill off US 101. 

Left to right: Bud Berliner, Loren Fleming, Bob Frost, JJ Kellum (holding Mikey, the lost "child", Barbara
Jackson, Brett Jackson, John Ireland & Joe Davis.  Behind the camera: Joe Doman

The scenario: A child separated from his mother in the forest.  Mother, found by hunters, unconscious in the hospital.  Child, four years old, missing. No vehicle found.  The Sheriff's Office has requested our assistance.
    The men and women of the Coos County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team came from all over the county.  They converged at a remote spot deep within the forest around a pool of blood (mock blood, of course). After a quick briefing, they split into two groups: Groundpounders and Radio Patrol. The Groundpounders, under the leadership of JJ Kellum, formed a line and plunged into the thick underbrush backtracking the trail of the fictitious mother. The Radio Patrol -- all licensed Amateur Radio Operators and members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service -- were directed to search the surrounding roads under the direction of a TAC Unit.  The TAC Unit, run by Joe Doman, is set up in a van. It has multiple radios, a computer, scanner, printer, GPS locating device and a complete collection of computerized and paper maps.
    The Radio Patrol, searching the nearby logging roads, soon located the "wrecked" vehicle.  This gave the ground team a new starting point.  Following a trail of planted clues, the "child" was soon found.  A pickup truck from the Radio Patrol was dispatched to pick up the team and "Mikey".
    All in all, the training exercise was a success.  The groundpounders gained valuable experience following tracks thorough the woods. The Radio Patrol showed their value as a mobile unit and brought to SAR a new dimension in radio communications.

  
   Bob Frost and JJ Kellum set up the "wrecked" van.

The realistic rear window was made from a black trash bag.

Note the American flag in the window.
A nice touch.

JJ Kellum plants mock blood evidence for the group to discover.

JJ went into the woods on several occasions setting the scene for the realistic search.

This picture was taken the day before the actual search.