Search and rescue board recommends coordination
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 12:22 PM PDT
PORTLAND (AP) — A governor’s task force on search and rescue operations in Oregon has recommended changing state law to improve coordination between different agencies by using a military model when they have to work together across multiple jurisdictions, along with more funding and better training.
But the report obtained by The Associated Press warned against major changes in the existing system that gives county sheriff’s departments responsibility for conducting searches.
The search and rescue efforts ‘‘that are widely reported in the media tend to be the anomalies,’’ the 15-page report said in its conclusion, an apparent reference to the international attention given to searches last December for a San Francisco family missing along the Rogue River in the southern Oregon wilderness and climbers on Mount Hood.
James Kim, an online editor, died of exposure trying to hike out for help after he took a wrong turn driving on a back road through the Siskiyou National Forest. But his wife and their two daughters were rescued.
On Mount Hood, three climbers died after they were caught near the summit by fierce winds and snow. The body of Kelly James of Dallas was recovered, while Brian Hall, also of Dallas, and Jerry ‘‘Nikko’’ Cooke of New York, were presumed dead.
‘‘The Task Force is wary of making recommendations based on those high-profile incidents and urges the Legislature to exercise caution so as not to over-legislate in an effort to fix (search and rescue operations) and unintentionally inhibit a system that has worked well for so many years,’’ the report’s conclusion said.
Improved interagency coordination led the list of 15 recommendations listed by the report.
But it said lead responsibility was best left to sheriff’s offices.
‘‘The sheriffs are best positioned to know their jurisdictions, the terrain and their constituents the best,’’ the report said. ‘‘They are ideally situated to establish and maintain the critically important relationships at the local level and to coordinate local resources.’’
The task force recommended that searches which cross county lines should form a unified command as outlined in the National Incident Management System. The system was adopted by the Department of Homeland Security in a 2003 presidential directive and ‘‘provides an excellent organizational structure for use in (search and rescue) planning and operations,’’ the report said.
The report also said Oregonians and visitors to the state ‘‘have a duty to exercise personal responsibility and assume the inherent risks of wilderness travel and mountain climbing.’’
A review of the Kim family search by the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association released in January concluded it was marked by ‘‘frequent confusion’’ over who was in charge. It also said cell phone records could have helped searchers.
The task force recommended increased telecommunications and technology training for search and rescue leaders. It noted that federal law allows government agencies to access cell phone records in emergencies so no change in Oregon law is needed.
But the report said education on obtaining, interpreting and using those records would improve search operations.
