Search & Rescue Terrain.... it's not easy up here but it sure is BEAUTIFUL

[BigAl07]

Here's a quick glimpse of a search I was on yesterday for a missing "hiker" in the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina

 

[dirkclod]

Is beautiful in the mountains there BA more so in the fall which you know . What was the outcome of the hiker .

 

[Porky]

Cracking scenery though under the circumstances??

 

[BigAl07]

Is beautiful in the mountains there BA more so in the fall which you know . What was the outcome of the hiker .

Yes sir I might try to get back this fall and grab that same pic again. I found a fairly accessible route that didn't kill us hiking up to our vantage point so I have planned to get back again later. The canopy was so thick we had trouble just launching let alone maintaining VLOS. We hiked up to the border to the National Park Service and found and opening and launched from there. We spent 9 batteries on the mountain and glassing the lake looking for this guy.

That particular area is special to me because I grew up hiking and climbing those very hills and valleys as a young man. My home town is directly in front of that furthest mountain in the background.

He was located later mostly unhurt after he wandered almost 2 miles away from where he was "supposed" to be. He had spent the night crawling through the woods unprepared and looked like he had taken a few falls and had wrestled a mountain lion LOL. But his health was good and we were able to reunite him with his fellow "hikers" and his family. I say "hikers" because their intentions had nothing to do with hiking and everything to do with harvesting some "plants" from the deep woods.

 

[dirkclod]

Well good he was found and know what he was digging for

 

[BigAl07]

Well good he was found and know what he was digging for

His co-hikers tried to cover for him but we let them keep talking until they "accidentally" admitted what he was harvesting and how much. So our SAR team was all LEO on this particular trip. Well all but my team and the three of us were NOT LEO.

 

[Former Member]

What kind of drones were you using? Any special gear? Whats your typical setup for normal DSAR?

 

[BigAl07]

What kind of drones were you using? Any special gear? Whats your typical setup for normal DSAR?

We had an H520 with Thermal and RGB sensors and our trusted Mavic Platinum. The canopy is now so thick both were only applicable for openings (roads etc) and for the small clearings here and there.

The water in the lake was crystal clear and I was able to glass it completely (Drone Deploy) in about 8 minutes (partial battery).

We operated with a dedicated VO and a Comms/Mapping Specialist.

This is fairly typical in our neck of the woods working in and around NPS/Wilderness land.

The huge changes in elevation and variations in canopy height made a reliable and useable mapping mission impossible except along the Commons Area and the lake area. Our boots on the ground teams were deployed by ATV as far as possible and then had to Brush Cutter mode the rest of the way because that’s the area he was “supposed” to be lost in.