In Search of the Missing

by Mick McCarthy

  My instructions were to search the area within the boundaries given and to report by radio anything I found within those limits. During the annual SARDA England mountain-rescue-dog assessment – held every February – the large number of dogs being judged meant the areas allocated were usually much smaller than those Don and I were given. However, as we’d been warned, there were only two of us for assessment and we were going to be ‘put through the grinder’. As with schutzhund trials, I had to present myself to the assessors to explain to them how I intended to search my area and how my dog would indicate a find. To check if a body had been placed at the start, I began my search by walking twenty to thirty feet to the right of my right-hand boundary. Within a few minutes of sending Dex up the hill, he disappeared out of sight. Later, I spotted him ranging up along the right-hand boundary, several hundred yards in front of me. Soon, I was trudging through snow. Although this slowed me up a lot, it seemed to make no difference to Dex. Having walked for twenty minutes, I had only covered less than half of my right-hand boundary. At this stage, I could hear Rizzo barking across the valley, and I became a little disheartened as I knew he had made a find.

  Still moving towards the col, Dex had almost reached the top. As he had already covered that area, this meant I didn’t have to walk that far. Putting my head down, I decided to plough on for a bit longer. Within minutes, I heard a bark. It took me a while before I eventually made out the faint shape of Dex high up on the crags to my left. As he was well above the boundary, I began to worry. I prayed silently that it wasn’t a false alarm. Then the words of Neil Powell came ringing in my ears: ‘Always trust your dog’ – words that returned to haunt me in later years when I was involved in a search for an eleven-year-old boy in Midleton. My heart pounded with excitement as Dex continued to bark. I began climbing to my left towards the crags. Sure enough, Dex came running down towards me, still barking. This was his way of indicating, of telling me that this was the area to search. When I said the magic words, ‘Show me’, he immediately turned and headed back up the crags. Every so often, he stopped, turned and barked back at me. By then, I was positive he had made a find. I climbed up the crags and continued over ice-encrusted snow for about fifteen minutes. At last, I spotted the body hidden in a hole in the rocks. I was relieved and delighted to find the body. But I was also annoyed as the body was not within the boundaries pointed out to me at the start. If I had seen the dog straying outside the boundaries, I would have called him back as I would have considered it a waste of time and energy searching outside the designated area.

  In the meantime, back at base, the assessors were anxiously awaiting my radio report. By using their binoculars, they had seen Dex climb up into the crags and beyond the boundary. They were extremely annoyed that the body had moved from its original location without telling them, and were very generous in praising Dex for making such a good find.

  Using Dex to search between me and the skyline, I continued the search back underneath the top boundary until I arrived at the wall representing the left-hand margin. As the area was very large, I decided to search it in three or four sweeps. I dropped down to the left-hand boundary. With the wind to my back, I began searching the central section of my area. Across, in front, Dex was working in a zigzag fashion, ranging out about three hundred yards either side of me. Just as I had almost finished the middle section, Dex struck again. This time, the body was down underneath, towards the bottom boundary and a little behind us. As the wind was coming from behind, Dex did not strike until he had moved ahead of the area containing the body. I could see him running down into a section of rocks and boulders. Having run around the rocks for some time, he began barking. Straight away, I knew that the body was in an inaccessible spot. Dex ran back towards me still barking. His indication was excellent. When I gave the command, ‘Show me’, he again took me back to the rocks, and continued to search for a way through to the body. Having climbed over the rocks, I finally found the body at the bottom of a hole, ten feet deep. To allow Dex to see the source of fun and games, I brought the body out with me. Whether just practising or conducting real-life searches, the dog should always regard the search as great fun. Having told base that we had located a second body, Dex and I took a fifteen-minute rest before continuing and finishing the area.

  Back at base, the assessors questioned me on how I thought the search had gone. Before answering, I thought carefully as I felt my reply could be the deciding factor in persuading the assessors that I was capable of handling a search dog efficiently. Did I trust my dog enough? Was I convinced that there were no more bodies in the area? Did I use the dog efficiently? Fortunately, the assessors seemed satisfied with my replies, and I was asked to wait until Don had completed his area. When Don returned, the assessors began to put him through his debriefing. Don and I were forbidden to speak to each other so as to ensure we didn’t give away any secrets about our individual areas.

  During lunch break, one of the assessors contacted the bodies by radio and asked them to relocate. Once everyone was in position, we were ready to begin again. Don was sent off to search Area 1. About ten minutes later, I was sent out to clear Area 2, which consisted almost completely of steep crags with many scree slopes leading up into gullies. Generally, gullies can be difficult to search, and often it becomes necessary for the handlers themselves to actually physically search a gully. The search went well. By 6.30 p.m., Don and I had both completed our second areas and located all bodies.

  Every evening, the seven assessors held a meeting, which usually lasted several hours. They discussed the merits or demerits of each handler and dog team. All seven assessors were asked if they would be happy to take a particular team on a search. If any one of the assessors expressed a doubt, that team was deemed to have failed. After the assessors’ first meeting, Don and I were told that we had both been given a borderline pass. They explained that the borderline pass was given because they felt that we had cheated: supposedly I had informed Don where the bodies in the first area were located, which would have been very near the spot to which the bodies were moved for Don’s assessment. The assessors found it difficult to believe that our dogs could be as competent as they appeared.

  On the second morning, searches took place in a new area on very steep ground. Much of the area was covered in knee-deep heather, with a few boulder fields thrown in for good measure. On steep ground in particular, heather is very tiring and difficult to walk through, both for the dog and the handler. However, this is where the power of the German shepherd comes to the fore. A fit German shepherd can force his way up through this type of heavy terrain. In contrast, smaller dogs, such as the collie, can find the going very difficult.

  In the afternoon, the search took place on a very large tract of open, hilly ground on which several sheep were grazing peacefully. Being aware that the assessors had a preconceived notion that a German shepherd was bound to make an attempt at chasing the sheep, we were intent on showing them that the dogs were well stock-proofed. From the beginning, Dex ranged out a few hundred yards ahead of me. Immediately, he found himself in amongst sheep. When they saw him, they scattered to the four winds. But Dex stuck to his task. He ignored the sheep, as did Rizzo when it was his turn to search the area. In less than ninety minutes, both dogs had cleared their areas and located all bodies.

  Later that evening, Don and I were taken aback to learn that we would have to conduct a third search, which was to take place in a large forest. As we entered the forest, Dex and Rizzo were in their element. As most of their midweek training at home had taken place on this type of ground, they felt totally at home. Both dogs completed a find in a very short time. Our second day drew to a close, and after the assessors’ meeting, we learned that we had both passed the day’s tests.

  The following morning, having driven a further three miles in along the forest path, we came to a clearing that contained a rescue hut. We had to wait there for about an hour while the assessors positioned the bodies for our nex
t test. As this was the last day of our assessment, some other assessors had come along to observe. Don was called in first, started his area and quickly disappeared out of sight. As I walked towards the base, the forest gave way to a beautiful, clean valley, surrounded on each side with very high, rolling ground, topped again with snow-covered crags. After about twenty minutes, I reached base and was shown my area. As it was very popular with walkers and climbers, many difficulties could arise when searching with a dog for a missing person. On that day, the local mountain-rescue team was conducting a training session in the area, and this could cause further confusion for the dog as the area would be criss-crossed with fresh scents. The assessors accepted that we would have a hard time, but we knew they wanted to find out how the dogs would cope with so many different scents, and how we would handle them under such circumstances.

  After presenting myself to the assessors, I set off with Dex. Having checked the direction of the wind, I decided to work from right to left along the top half of my area. As this was going to be the toughest part, I opted to start at the top while Dex was relatively fresh. The search went off without a hitch. We cleared the area in less than three hours, and found all bodies. As Don’s area was much larger than mine, it took a little longer to finish.

  Once Don had completed his area, the assessors held a short meeting. Afterwards, they told us they had seen enough and there would be no need for us to conduct a second search that day. We were both officially informed that we had passed our search-dog assessment. Passing the Novice Search Dog test meant that Don and I were now mission-ready search-dog handlers, and could go on call-outs. The assessors apologised for having ever doubted our dogs or us. The chief coordinator of SARDA England congratulated us on the exceptionally high standard of work maintained by Don, myself and the dogs over the three-day period. He acknowledged that the performance of our dogs had succeeded in changing the assessors’ and observers’ opinions of German shepherds, and said that he hoped to see more German shepherds qualifying as search-and-rescue dogs in the near future.

  It took several days after arriving home for our feet to touch the ground. Rizzo and Dex were now the first and only qualified search-and-rescue dogs in the Republic of Ireland. It had taken nearly four years of very hard work for Don, myself, our dogs, our families, friends and other helpers. But in the end it was worth it all. On hearing of our success, a delighted Con Moriarty – team leader of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team – said, ‘This is the biggest development for us since we opened a mountain rescue station in Killorglin in 1983. It’s something we’ve been working towards for a long time.’

  For our dogs to move from novice search dogs to full search grade, we had to pass a second assessment held later to confirm the initial grading and to ensure that handlers continued to retain high training standards after qualification. Unfortunately, Don and Rizzo were unable to go. Nevertheless, as Rizzo had passed the first assessment, his qualification still stood. At this second assessment, Dex was successful once again. Highly impressed with Dex’s standard, the assessors expressed surprise that an ‘Alsatian’ would range as far as a collie.

  Now Dex was the first and only full-graded international mountain-rescue search dog in the Republic of Ireland. Once again, Dex received much publicity and praise from the media here at home. However, we were not allowed to bask in the glory for very long. While the majority of the doggy people were thrilled with our success, some begrudgers among them viewed our accomplishment as a mere fluke. Given that full search dogs must undergo further assessments every three years so as to maintain the high standards of the initial two assessments, I decided that, instead of waiting, I would enter Dex for other assessments in the hope of silencing the begrudgers. In November 1990 Don and I went to Wales to take part in a SARDA Wales assessment. Again, this appraisal was held over three days in wet and wintry conditions. Once more, we achieved success.

  In February 1991 I took Dex to Keswick in Cumbria to take part in assessments for upgrading. As it happened, Rizzo had a viral infection and was unable to take part, but Don was invited along as a trainee assessor. This major event was scheduled as a four-day assessment, beginning on Saturday 23 February. More than 150 mountain-rescue people from several countries were expected to attend, including commanding officers from army dog-training schools in both Norway and Sweden, together with their chief trainers. Having arrived on the Friday night, I fed and exercised Dex. Next morning, after an anxious, sleepless night, I rose at 6 a.m. When I checked on Dex, I found to my horror that he had devoured all his spare food – six days’ ration. This was a bad start, and I became even more nervous.

  Searching that day proved extremely difficult for both handler and dog because of gale-force winds and driving rain. In late afternoon, the winds eased and a dense mist moved in across the landscape. This reduced visibility to ten to fifteen feet. It was a very long, hard day, and I was more than relieved to be told I had passed, despite the bad weather and Dex’s eating binge! All tests must be passed to qualify (though a repeat is allowed in certain circumstances, such as when an assessor has given incorrect information to a dog handler).

  On Sunday and Monday the weather conditions improved a little, but the days were equally long and hard. Once again, we got through and without too much difficulty. On Sunday, in between searches, two English radio stations interviewed me, and I had the added pressure of being followed for two days by the Norwegian and Swedish delegations. As they worked mainly with German shepherd dogs themselves, they were especially interested in watching Dex work. On the Sunday night, a Swedish army colonel gave a lecture and video show. He commented on the very high standard of all the dogs in the assessment, particularly the German shepherd dog – the only German shepherd to take part in the assessment. He went on to say that their own German shepherds tended to tire and lose interest when they’d worked for six to eight hours, whereas Dex appeared to get fresher as the day went on.

  Again, the fourth and final day of the assessment was very wet. At this stage, the assessors were checking the dogs for stamina, fitness and willingness to work, even when tired. Unbelievably, this was our best day as Dex worked almost without command, except for the occasional directional signal. Over the four days, Dex was one of only two dogs to find all of the bodies.

  That night, certificates were presented during a dinner at the Keswick Hotel, where all the participants had stayed. I found it a very emotional occasion. As I walked back to my table having received my qualification certificate, I felt extremely proud of Dex, and I was convinced that this achievement would surely silence the begrudgers, if only for a while. Delighted with our achievements, Don and I believed that both Dex and Rizzo would play an important role in search-and-rescue operations for many years to come. We were wrong.

  Castleisland Call-out

  Don and I were raring to go, to get into the thick of it, anxious to do our bit for search and rescue. The first shout came when a farmer went missing on a mountain between Castleisland and Ballydesmond. We were called in with other members of SARDA – among them Neil Powell – two other searchers from Northern Ireland and one from Dublin. By then, the farmer had been missing for a number of days. The missing man lived on the opposite side of a mountain to his daughter, and climbed the mountain every Friday to visit her as part of his weekly routine. When he failed to turn up on one particular Friday during the summer, she sensed he was in trouble and reported him missing.

  Local volunteers and Civil Defence members were searching on the mountain when we arrived on a fine, bright afternoon. As all of our SARDA dogs worked by air-scenting, we needed the mountain free from all human scent other than that of the missing man, and we asked the gardaí to clear the mountain of all other searchers and climbers before we could begin. Around 4 p.m. we started. We prepared to do a line search by spreading out about 400 yards apart. All of the dog handlers climbed up in a straight line and worked the dogs by sending them in a zigzag direction, over and back between op
posite handlers. The mountain resembled a rounded hill. The climb was steep and the going was tough as the ground was boggy and covered in heather, with much forest growth in the valleys. We knew that the locals had carved out their own pathways up the mountain, but these were not obvious to us. More than likely, the farmer followed the exact same path every Friday, but we had no idea where it might be.

  We continued to climb, though with no inkling of which direction the farmer might have taken. Every now and again, the handlers contacted each other on their walkie-talkies, especially when they felt it necessary to strengthen up on certain areas or ease off on others. Dex and I had almost reached the top of the mountain. By then, I was probably about a quarter of a mile from the nearest handler. On the mountain peak, Dex indicated. When I went to investigate, I found a man walking along the top. When I asked him what he was doing up there, he said he was looking for the missing farmer and knew him well. He also said he knew the area inside out as he often hunted there with the harriers. I pleaded with him to leave, and explained that we couldn’t carry out a proper search if he stayed as the dogs would keep coming back to him, but he insisted on continuing to look for the missing man. I accept that he was a well-meaning member of the public, but because of his presence there was no point in our combing further through that particular area. I contacted Neil and told him I was coming down.