Special Report: Desert Rescue, saving lives in the desert

Imperial County deserts are beautiful places to visit, but when somebody gets lost in them, their only chance of survival might be in the hands of a local group of volunteers, the Deanza search and rescue unit.

How long can someone survive in the desert? Authorities said it all depends on several factors.

I.C. Sheriff Raymond Loera said, ” It may be an elderly person. It may be someone who’s injured. Sometimes we don’t know if they’re injured. ”

Jeff Green, Deanza Rescue Unit President, said temperature conditions can cut into someone’s survival time.

” In some cases, less than an hour. An individual can be extremely dehydrated to where their mental capacity is diminished, and they become disoriented. ”

Loera said a caller’s information is crucial.

“Give us their location, so that they can start from somewhere,” Loera said.

Green said the unit is on call 24/7.

“We get called out at all times of the year and in all different environments,” Green said.

Gary Roe, rescue unit volunteer, said it takes a variety of special skills to rescue someone lost in the miles of desert in the area. For that, he said the unit trains once a month.

“Learning to work together is learning to rack better and is learning to use your GPS,” Roe said.

They train using time effectively, so that the team can assemble, pick up their gear, and get be on the road as fast as possible.

“So, that the faster that they can get out there with as much information as they can, the faster the better,” Loera said.

The team goes into tracking mode once they’re at the last known location of the victim.

Juan Amaya , rescue unit volunteer, pointed at tracks on the ground and said, ” Tracks are going and coming in each direction, going in circles. So, the reason we’re kind of expanding out making a circle around this area is to finally get a direction of travel. Which way did he go? East, north, south, west? ”

They use tracking cards to help them zero in on the victim’s footprints. They draw as much of the track’s details as they can on the cards.

” This is a man’s track here, this big one. We want to draw as much detail of it as we can. Then that little track over there of the tennis shoe, that’s going to be the boy. He’s about ten years old. That’ll be his tracks, ” Roe said.

They have to separate the victim’s tracks from dozens of other tracks in the area. They do that by comparing the tracks with their notes on the track cards.

Tom Prater, rescue unit volunteer, pointed at a track with his flashlight and called out to the team, “I have one track going across this direction and I’m looking for the next set of tracks.”

Volunteer Anthony Adams explained the importance of the track they had just found, “So we can pick up the tracks on one end, find it five miles down the road and be able to confirm it’s the same shoe based upon size and thread pattern.”

Learning to use global positioning systems – GPS – is a must for the team. This way they can keep track of the team, as well.

“In the command post we do a 20-minute to 30-minute use as a safety check, each member is accounted for, that everything’s okay, and we ask for their GPS location,” Green said.

Green said there are several ways to increase a person’s chances of surviving the desert. Number one, let someone know where you’re going. Share your plan with them.

” And when you’re going to be back. So, somebody else knows to come look for you and the area they’re going to look, ” Green added.

Number two is to wear proper clothing.

” Long sleeves. People sort of refuse to it; they’ll wear tank tops, ” Green explained.

Number three is take plenty of water – plenty.

Number four, have a friend call the right people in case you’re lost. In this case, it would be the Sheriff’s Office.

Green said if you’re lost in the desert, find or make shade and stay put.

“Nine times out of ten, the search team will find the vehicle before we find the subject,” Green said.

He shared a case in which the previous year a brother and sister got lost in the desert.

” They took a wrong turn and they got on a dirt road and got stuck. As she was trying to get branches to put under the tires to get unstuck, he decided he’s going to walk over to the highway. He walked less than two miles and we found him in a field deceased, ” Green said.

The rescue unit continues to make a difference, and they welcome volunteers. They said saving lives is a passion for them.

“It just gives you a happy feeling to find somebody alive and you’re able to take him back in to their family,” Roe said.

“I wouldn’t give it up for anything,” Green said.

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