Prevent

If you believe someone you know is missing, and before you phone the police, first determine if the person is really lost; maybe they have just changed their plans.

Then gather this information:

• The person’s name
• A description of the person including age
• A description of any vehicles, clothing or equipment
• Where they were going and what time they were supposed to be back
• What you have done to locate them.

There are no hard and fast rules about how long you should wait after you think a person is overdue before you call for help. For example, if you can’t find a child within an hour or so, it is time to call for assistance. An experienced tramper who is 6 hours overdue from a 2-week trip might not be quite so worrisome. It depends on the people, how prepared they are, the weather, medical conditions, etc.

Remember: everyone in Search and Rescue would rather be called out and have the missing person show up five minutes later, than be called out too late.