Saskatoon volunteers logged more than 500 hours searching for missing people in July

July was a busy month for search and rescue volunteers in Saskatoon, as they logged about 544 hours during searches for missing people.

Rebecca Basset, a search manager and training director for Saskatoon Search and Rescue, said that adds up to about 10 full days of searching.

“It seems like a whirlwind,” she said. “Its hard to remember all the things that went on.”

The team was activated to help with searches five times in July, which took place in Saskatoon, Sandy Lake and the Red Earth Cree Nation, where searchers assisted in looking for missing five-year-old Frank Young.

Young was found dead on July 9 after an 81-day search.

Basset said the team most commonly helps by assisting with ground searches when a person is reported missing.

Different tactics like lost person behaviour profiling and search strategies are used, Basset said, depending on the circumstances and location of the search. She said the team has combed through dense bush, farmland, and near bodies of water like rivers, ponds and lakes.

The team also often helps manage the community volunteers that show up to help with searches, and often ends up leading teams of the missing person’s family and friends.

Basset said a month like the one they just had isn’t common.

“We can go months with no call at all and then we can have a July,” she said.

Their schedule doesn’t fluctuate based on seasons, though Basset said winter and summer each present different challenges that affect their tactics. In warmer months, there are water-related searches that their team will respond to, Basset said. In winter, however, the urgency can be heightened because of freezing temperatures and winter storms.

“It’s completely unpredictable,” Basset said.

Their team in Saskatoon is made up of 36 volunteers, Basset said, and team members co-ordinate to lend a hand in a search in or around Saskatoon.

Even those who don’t participate in active searches directly are still crucial to the team, as Basset said their participation in the Project Lifesaver Program requires that someone be available in Saskatoon for any emergencies that might come up in the city.

Basset said she is always busy co-ordinating who can go to a search and who can stay behind. The number of people available for a given search can be as few as two or as many as 25, depending on the day and schedules.

Even when volunteers can’t make it to a search themselves, Basset said people will come out to help a team heading out to a search by loading their vehicles and sending them off.

“It’s more of a team response, even though it’s not everyone that’s going on the road,” Basset said. “That really helps keep that energy up, because you know that your team is behind you for the small things.”

With the busy month they just had, Basset said their team is feeling the strain.

“People are tired, but tired in a way that we expect,” she said.

The team debriefs within a day or two after every incident they respond to, Basset said, but when calls keep coming during a month like July, there is a balance between compounding exhaustion and the reward they feel for their efforts.

Being a professional #volunteer #SAR member takes time, skill, knowledge. In July we had five search activations from @SaskatoonPolice and @RCMPSK. 10 days and 544 hrs of searching in a month is record-setting for our team. Thx to all our members for their incredible dedication! pic.twitter.com/63dWtmAGAi

— Saskatoon SAR (@SaskatoonSAR) August 1, 2022

Yet, the team always finds the energy for the next search.

“There’s always energy in that first call and that first response, because that’s what these people do,” Basset said.

What can be very difficult for the team is dealing with the ongoing nature of searches and many unknown outcomes, Basset said.

Some of the searches their team assisted on last month still haven’t concluded.

So far this year, four searches have ended with a missing person being found deceased in or near water.

“It’s been a really hard year for the team,” Basset said, but she added that finding someone who’s deceased is still, in some ways, a success.

“When the outcome is unfavourable, at least there is closure,” she said.

If the team is called to a remote search and needs to travel, many of their expenses are covered thanks to agreements and compensation the team receives through the Search and Rescue Saskatchewan Association of Volunteers.

The Saskatoon Public Safety Agency also supports their team, Basset said.

The team pays for their own clothing and gear, however, Basset said, and they are continually fundraising to help offset the costs.

Do you want to be a search and rescue volunteer?

Basset said the team has become “very much a family” to her, and this fall they are adding to the family by recruiting new members.

Basset said the group holds an open-house meeting for prospects, where current members honestly share the magnitude of the commitment required to be a search and rescue team member.

She said people are often intrigued by the excitement of the job, “but the other side of it is, it’s a big commitment.”

After they’ve made their selections, the new volunteers will start training to get certified as basic searchers. The initial preparation takes about four months and a lot of energy, according to Basset.

Tired of “same old, same old?” Looking for something to spark your interest? Look no further! Email membership@saskatoonsearchandrescue.org to sign up for one of three info sessions on August 18, 28 or 29 to learn more about joining SSAR and what we do!#yxe #volunteer pic.twitter.com/tOG8cFGNxK

— Saskatoon SAR (@SaskatoonSAR) July 31, 2022

She said there’s no specific type of person who is ideal for search and rescue, and their current team is very diverse. There is, however, a big commitment and a high energy level required, as well as a desire to spend time outside and a willingness to take on big challenges.

“There’s a place for everyone in search and rescue, but search and rescue might not be for everybody,” Basset said.