*** Night Grid-Search Tips ***

Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 20:23:59 -0700

To: sarinfo@mindlink.bc.ca
From: cordier@mind.net (cordier)
Subject: Reply to Night Grid Search


Hi Martin,
It's time I got back to you and told you how our night exercise went. It
went fine. Our main objectives were to grid search at night and guide on
a compass bearing. This was accomplished. We found if one shone a light
on the compass ring that it luminesced and one could follow a bearing
somewhat accurately. The best way was to put a person with a flashlight
out in the area that was on the compass course and then have them move
one way or the other until they were right on the compass bearing. This
person then became a beacon that the compass person could guide on. It
was time consuming but it worked. We had the person on the end of the
line flag as the search line progressed. Then, on the return pass the
guide person guided off of the flagging. One other objective was to see
how our standard orange flagging would work at night. It doesn't work to
well. We were looking for a reflective material to flag with but haven't
been successful as yet. We are also looking for a source where we can
buy the itty-bitty light sticks. We used them several years ago but no
one knows where they came from.

We placed a lot of "evidence" out on the course so that the searchers
would be finding something and no one would become bored with the
exercise. Our ultimate goal was to find "Larry", a hearing and speech
impaired 11 year old boy. "Larry" was of course a dummy. It was fun.
 
The area where we had the exercise was almost on top of a peak.  The
terrain was almost flat in the area of the exercise but to the east of
us was the peak of the mountain. From past experience we knew that we
wouldn't have radio communication with the base camp which was situated
at the trailhead to the area we hiked into. As a consequence we set up
a radio relay and it worked beautifully.

Another part of the exercise was to allow the participants to work with
night vision goggles. Everyone enjoyed this part of the exercise and
were amazed at how much light the goggles gathered. Next time, next
exercise maybe we will put a live subject in the field and conduct a
Sound Sweep.

	All for now.


	Vern Cordier,
	Jackson County, Oregon
	Sheriffs Search and Rescue


Vern Cordier :>)
cordier@mind.net