• March 27, 2024 - Slipper Rock Univesity, Butler County -- Sold Out

• Munhall Boro Police Department -- Sept 25, 2024. Registration is Open

Please email Chris Ruch at ruch@amrg.info to register for the Sept 25, 2024 class.

Description

This one-day (8 hours) training, presented by the Allegheny County Child Abduction Response Team, is designed to equip law enforcement officers with the essential knowledge and skills necessary to initial a search for a missing person in Western Pennsylvania, from urban to suburban to rural environments. This course will prepare officers for the specific tasks and special techniques needed in the first hours after a person is reported missing. Discussions will start with evaluation of the pre-planning and vulnerable assessments and move into the initial search tasks and search strategies, while preparing for multiple future operational periods, if needed. Special attention will be given to additional investigation considerations, including in child abduction, human trafficking, and missing dementia/special needs searches, as well as the appropriate use of search and rescue (SAR) teams and search dogs.

Who Should Attend

The training is designed for law enforcement supervisors and investigators who may be responsible for the initial stages of a missing person incident who want to learn comprehensive and detailed information about the complexities of the lost person incidents and the resources available in Western Pennsylvania to assist in these cases.

Logistics and Registration

Time: 8am-4pm

Instructors: Chris Ruch, Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group

                   Lt. Venerando Costa, Allegheny County Police Department

                   Special Agent Fina Spory, Department of Homeland Security

 

Cost: $40 per student. Includes:

• Search & Rescue Initial Actions guide booklet
• Eligible for 8 hours of PA Dept of Health EMS continuing education
• Lunch will be provided

 

 

 

Can't make the shheduled 2024 date? This training can also available to be scheduled for your Department, COG, County, or regional organization. 

 

Training Topics Includes:

• Common Types of Lost or Missing Person Searches
  • Walk Away - Alzheimer's, Developmentally Disabled
  • Despondent – Suicide
  • Juvenile Runaways
  • Crime Victims and Evidence
  • Abduction and Human Trafficking
• The Four Stages of an Urban Search
  • Stage I Initial Report
  • Stage 2 Initial Response
  • Stage 3 Search Team Callout
  • Stage 4 Field Search
• Planning and Strategies
• Preplan:
  • Vulnerability Assessment
  • Strategies:
    • Investigation & Interviewing
    • Rapid Media Intervention
    • Scenario Analysis
    • Search Area Development
    • Select the Appropriate Maps
  • Field Operations
    • The Initial Report
    • Containment & Confinement
    • Be On the Look Out (BOLOs)
    • Door to Door Canvassing
    • Initial Search Tactics 
    • National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
    • Clue ManagementWhen to call for specialty Search and Rescue teams
  • Resources & Skills
    • Search Team Members
    • Dog Resources
    • Helicopters
  • The decision to suspend or limit a limited search
  • Logistics and establishing a Search Base
  • Multiple Operational Periods and Regional Mutual Aid Resources