Stevens Point, WI - In the wake of several missing person cases in the state, a Wisconsin CAP unit recently teamed up with a K-9 unit in a search and rescue exercise at a private ultralight airfield in eastern Waupaca County.

Participating in the exercise were seven members of the Stevens Point Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and four members of Wolf River K-9 Search and Rescue.

The main goal of the joint exercise was for each organization to learn how the other organization operates in a search capacity.  In the event of a real search, the two groups would be better able to interface if needed.  Although CAP does not have its own K-9 unit, it has the capacity of working with K-9 teams, and some CAP members also belong to K-9 SAR groups.

During the exercise, the CAP aircrew, led by pilot Capt. John Thompson, used aerial search techniques and then coordinated ground search activities with the CAP ground team and K-9 teams.  Two members of CAP played the role of lost persons for the K-9 teams to locate.

Both the CAP unit and K-9 unit were successful in finding their targets.  Jaela, a Belgian Malinois owned by Terri Kent, found both human subjects within an hour of the ground search.

“This was a good learning experience for both groups because we got to do something we haven’t done before,” stated Phil Popke, one of the Wolf River K-9 handlers. “It’s always an advantage whenever groups can combine their efforts to do a mutual aid mission.”

Jim Johnson, one of the Stevens Point CAP members added, “It adds depth to the whole system.”

One minor operational difference between the two groups that the exercise revealed was the use of GPS coordinates.  While the CAP pilots reported GPS coordinates of the target in standard lattitude and longitude, the K-9 group uses UTM coordinates (Universal Transverse Mercator).

Wolf River K-9 Search and Rescue is a volunteer 501 (c) (3) organization founded in January of 2005.  They have six members with seven certified canines and three in training.

Several breeds are utilized by the group, including German Shepherd Dogs, Bloodhounds, Labrador and Golden Retrievers, a Belgian Malinois, a Red Heeler, and an Airdale terrier.  The advantage of having different breeds of dogs is that each breed has its own unique skills and level of endurance.

Air scent dogs are able to find lost persons by detecting traces of human scent in the air, working down a “scent cone” toward the area where the scent is most concentrated.  The dogs can home in on a particular person’s scent, but can detect any human scent if no scent article is available.  Air scent dogs work off leash at a distance from the handler and are trained to return to the handler after the “find,” leading him or her back to a victim.

Trailing dogs are directed to find a specific person by detecting scent close to the ground or on nearby foliage.  The dog must be given an uncontaminated scent article belonging to the missing person.  Trailing dogs, unlike air scent dogs, work on harness and leash.

Both types of search dogs follow the scent of minute particles of skin cells cast off by people as they move.  An average person gives off 40,000 skin rafts per minute.

In addition, some dogs are also trained as cadaver dogs, which are used to locate only human remains above or below ground.

All handlers in Wolf River K-9 SAR have at least 6 years, and as much as 20 years of experience.  They also have the minimum of SAR Tech II certification with the National Association for Search and Rescue, as well as CPR, AED and first aid training.  Members are trained in navigation and compass along with evidence and crime scene preservation. 

Typically a handler-canine team will train at a minimum of 20 hours per month for one to two years before they are search eligible.

The Wolf River K9 search team is available, free of charge, to assist local, state, or federal agencies in rescuing a lost child, hiker, or disoriented patient.  More information, including their 24-hour pager number, can be found at: www.wolfriverk9searchandrescue.org.

The Stevens Point Composite Squadron, chartered in 1985, has 54 members including 23 cadets. 

The two organizations plan to hold more joint exercises in the future.

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