A 48-strong compliment of SES members from the Hunter Region, including units from Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Cooranbong, Newcastle, Cessnock and Foster, participated in learning all aspects of land search operations on July 31 and August 1.

Dungog media liaison officer Clayton Shean said their objectives were to participate in a land search for missing persons, maintain search safety apply observation skills, the use of survival techniques, secure a scene and maintain evidence integrity.

“This required learning, practicing and implementing various search techniques for both urban and rural searches during both day and night,” he said.

“Several scenarios where played out and one was to search for a sword and handbag which were evidence in a bag snatching case.

“For this a single file search technique was used which involved the team leader being in the middle where he can maintain control and communications with the team.

“Team members only scan and search areas given to them.

“The front person searches ahead, next person to the right, the next to the left with the last person searching behind.

“Another exercise was a search for two missing hikers who had not returned on time as planned.

“This required the use of a search technique called purposeful meandering and in this formation the team leader and navigator maintain a straight course, searching up to a few meters each side of their track.

“The other members meander in and out, looking in likely spots for the person or missing items such as looking behind logs, in structures and drain pipes.”

Not all scenarios were designed to have a happy outcome Mr Shean said.

“Using different search techniques the search teams found evidence such as bullet casings due to a person shooting randomly in a park, the bodies and a knife used in a suspected suicide and the discovery of bodies of persons who had simply perished due to getting lost and bad weather,” he said.

“Because of the rain over the days leading up to the exercise at times it made navigating the terrain difficult but that only enhanced the realism as the SES is all about ordinary people doing extraordinary things in extremely trying times.”