Whenever I mention I’m part of a SAR team (which is probably way too often), I get the same response, the same cock of the head, same slightly quizzical look and then that all too familiar phrase.
Truth is, you really don’t need a mountain to go missing. The people we go looking for aren’t normally fit, hill walkers that have got lost or injured whilst on an expedition. The people we help, often may not even realise they are lost. Of all our call outs, about a third are for people living with dementia/Alzheimer’s, another third is those who are despondent and may be at risk of harming themselves or committing suicide and the last third covers everything else.
In 2015, Midshires spent about 69 days searching for missing people (MISPERS) and countless others training. We have spent time searching our counties rivers, practicing rope work in areas with steep inclines and had a presence in nearly every corner of the two counties. We have trained with the police to learn about the behaviours of lost people, undertaken courses in wilderness first aid and even handed out heaters to vulnerable houses when a gas main ruptured. We have helped re-unite families with their loved ones and, when the ending hasn’t been such a happy one, at least helped provide closure for those left behind.
So they are right, there are no mountains in Herts and Beds, but there is an incredibly busy SAR team, committed to help the police and our other emergency service partners 24/7 – 365
If you’d like to join our team, and really make a difference in your local community, please get in touch and book your place on our next SAR technician course running the 19th and 20th of March 2016
Midshires Search & Rescue 
The work of Midshires does quietly in the background to help the police in finding missing people from the Herts and Beds communities has to be applauded, and so few people seem to not to know of this extraordinary team who there to help when needed
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