Lost Person Behavior

:: Course Goal

The goal of this course is to provide participants with the tools and knowledge necessary to successfully look in the right place, understand lost person behavior, apply statistical tables, identify needed special investigation, and deploy resources in the field.  Participants should also be able to brief other searchers on key components of lost person behavior. Everyone needs to know where to look from the field searcher to search management. The course makes extensive use of real-life examples, with over 33 map problems and field exercises during the two-day version of the course.

:: Learning Objectives

Upon successfully completing this course, participants will be able to:

Describe key developments in the filed of lost person behavior

Describe how the ISRID database is organized to best predict behavior.

Demonstrate the ability to determine subject category given a scenario.

Judge different methods to combine different subject categories

Explain different causes of becoming lost and different strategies used.

Demonstrate ability to identify decision maps on map and in the field.

Describe common misconceptions of lost person behavior.

Use correct statistical data from ISRID to model likely location

Demonstrate the use of reflex tasking to generate planned tasks

Describe key points for each subject category profile

Demonstrate ability to deploy resources for each subject category

:: Target Audience

This applied training session is intended for public safety responders involved in search and rescue.

:: Prerequisite

The course has no prerequisites. Those with a search and rescue background will get the maximum benefit from the course. It can serve as a useful bridge between field and management.