The Incident Commander for mission 87 was looking for canine teams on September 21st around 6:00 p.m. Thus, the Mountain Canine Corps received the first call. I volunteered to respond. Did you know I’m also a member of MCC? The Brigade went on standby for a possible second operational period about half an hour later. Nine Brigade members volunteered to participate and went on standby status.
MCC ultimately was unable to field a canine and handler but Incident Command still wanted any MCC ground pounders that were available. I decided to head down and represent MCC. Arriving at Incident Base near the Sandia Ski Area it was obvious this was a joint mission between NM SAR and the Bernalillo Sheriff’s Office. The scene was busy with teams arriving to go into the field, teams coming back from the field, a helicopter in the air with Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) and a large group of the subjects care givers.
The helicopter spotted a heat source shortly after I arrived and a Sheriff’s office team went to investigate. A few minutes later a Sheriff’s deputy informed the Incident Commander that the subject had walked out. The subject was as at a private residence about three miles away. EMS dispatched to the home and indicated the subject was in good shape. The subject declined to be transported and we all stood down. I was back home by 12:15 a.m. September 22nd.
Before the subject had been found two Brigade members headed out to assist with mapping at Incident Base. They only made it to Santa Fe before being turned around.
Thanks to all who participated in mission 87.