Basic Searcher

Published by Yellowknife Search & Rescue on

Website Yellowknife Search & Rescue

Basic Searchers spend a lot of time walking and focusing.  They look for missing people (in urban and wildness environments) and provide first aid.

Basic Searcher Training includes:

– Land Navigation (Compass, Map and combined Map and Compass)
– General Operations (Legal issues, Packs, Clothing, Predator awareness, Helicopter safety, Hypothermia)
– Lost Person Behavior (Probability Zones, Behavior Profiles, Application to Search and Rescue)
– Ground Search (YKSAR Expectations and Call Out, Type I, II, II, IV searches, Clue Awareness, Scanning Techniques)
– Communications (YKSAR specific VHF and UHF handheld radios, Satellite phones, Cell phone, SPOT and Inreach)
– Search categories in the Northwest Territories
– Government and agency roles
– Overview of Search Management

The next Basic Searcher Training will be in the spring of 2025.

For more information, check out: https://yksar.com/training-basic-searcher/

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NOTES:

Time Contribution: typically 5-10 hours a month once Basic Searcher Training (70 hours) is complete.  May be higher during responses or trainings (depending on your availability).

To volunteer as a Basic Searcher, no experience is necessary.  Basic Searchers are required to complete a 70 hour Basic Search Training.  YKSAR also provides regular training (including wilderness first aid and winter orientation) so searchers can continue to practice and develop their skills.

Basic Searchers should be prepared to be outdoors in all weather.  They may be outside, on the land, for hours or days at a time (depending on the situation and your availability to respond). Must be comfortable walking on rocks and uneven surfaces.  Reasonably good fitness is required.

Basic Searchers need to provide their own equipment (appropriate footwear, clothing, compass, backpack, sleeping bag, tent, rope, bug shirt).  In some cases, limited equipment (e.g. compass, not clothing or footwear) may be available to be borrowed.  Shared equipment, including maps, large tents, GPS units, and radios and radio license, are provided by YKSAR.

All Basic Searchers must be members of the Yellowknife Search and Rescue Society.  Members are able to vote in general meetings of the Society, and they elect the Society’s Board of Directors.

Membership is open to residents in Yellowknife and surrounding area.  To be a member of YKSAR, you must 1) be at least 19 years old, 2) pass criminal records (including vulnerable sector) check, and 3) pay the $50 first year membership fee ($25 for subsequent fiscal years).

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