Before the Search: The Briefing Room | SAR Series Fall 2026
Article 4 of 7
It is tempting to measure the strength of a search by the number of people who turn out. People matter, but numbers alone do not tell us what was searched, what was found, or what still needs attention.
Before a team goes out, it needs an assignment it can understand: the area, the objective, the route or boundaries, the expected reporting process, and any known hazards. A team also needs to know what information would change the plan. A fresh witness lead, a track, a discarded object, or a newly confirmed timeline point might redirect the operation.
Different resources see different things. A ground team may examine details close to the surface. A canine team works within its training and the conditions of a particular deployment. A mounted team may cover terrain from a different vantage point. Investigators may be interviewing witnesses or examining digital records while the field work continues. None of those perspectives is a substitute for communicating findings back into one shared picture.
The return briefing deserves as much attention as the departure. “We searched it” is not enough. What was the assigned area? Where did the team actually travel? Were there gaps, access problems, distractions, or changed conditions? What did members see, and what did they leave for follow-up? A negative result is useful only when everyone understands what it can and cannot rule out. This is where a formal, structured, training program like NASAR’s SARTECH II embedded as part of the foundation of LPA’s Mounted Forensic Operations System program comes in.
Good coordination also protects searchers. People working without a common plan can overlap, miss an area, contaminate a potential scene, or become a second emergency. People working with no plan can lead to disaster. Clear check-ins and accountability help the operation know where its people are.
The principle is simple: put every team’s observations in conversation with the investigation. More boots can expand capacity. A shared, documented plan gives that capacity direction.
Series note: This article is part of Before the Search, our series leading up to the inaugural search and rescue class in LPA’s Mounted Forensic Operations System (MFOS) program. The NASAR Search & Rescue Academy will be held at the Laura Pettler & Associates International Forensics Institute at Crossroads Ranch in Monroe, North Carolina, November 15–22, 2026.
