Missing Persons Toolbox Training

[Patch6713 18]

To: New York State Law Enforcement Executives

From: Missing Persons Clearinghouse

Date: September 12, 2013

Subject: Missing Persons Toolbox Training

Incidents of missing persons with autism, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia who tend to
wander or become lost are on the rise. One in eighty-eight children are now diagnosed with
autism and an alarming new study shows that nearly half of them will wander or elope from a
safe environment. "Elopement is one of the very few problems in autism that is life-threatening,"
says pediatrician Paul Law, senior author of the study and director of the Interactive Autism
Network (IAN) Project, a national autism database headquartered at the Kennedy Krieger
Institute in Baltimore. "It is probably one of the leading, if not the leading, causes of death in
children with autism," he says. In addition, 60% of people with Alzheimer’s disease will wander
with studies showing the need to act quickly in these cases because more than 50% will suffer
serious injury or death if not located within 24 hours.

Successful resolution of these types of cases requires law enforcement agencies to preplan
and develop partnerships with local, county, state and volunteer organizations which can aid
with search and rescue operations. Extensive research has been conducted regarding behavioral
patterns and profiles of this vulnerable population which enables agencies to efficiently direct
their resources when conducting searches. The NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services -
Missing Persons Clearinghouse is pleased to announce a series of Missing Persons Toolbox
Training seminars at various locations throughout the state.

This free one day seminar, presented by Missing Persons Clearinghouse staff, focuses on
missing person cases which involve both urban and rural searches with an emphasis on people
with special needs, such as autism, Alzheimer’s and dementia. It includes a brief overview on
the NYS AMBER Alert, Missing Child Alert, Missing College Student Alert and Missing
Vulnerable Adult Alert programs. The afternoon session provides tools and resources necessary
to conduct successful search and rescue operations with presentations conducted by
representatives of the following agencies: NYS Department Environmental Conservation Forest
Rangers, NYS Federation of Search and Rescue, New York State Police Aviation and New York
State Police Canine Unit. This is a great opportunity for law enforcement agencies to create
partnerships and develop or update their protocols for these types of incidents.

Topics include:
 Identifying specific search method (s) based on special need of victim
 Understanding the importance of an immediate response
 Statistical find locations
 Incident Command System
 Wilderness searches
 Managing volunteers
 Urban searches
 Search Tactics/Reflex Tasks
 Project Lifesaver (live demonstration)
 NYSP Canine Unit
 Utilizing air resources – NYSP Aviation
 AMBER, Missing Child, College Student and Vulnerable Adult Alerts

The target audience includes supervisors, first responders, communications personnel and all staff involved in missing persons cases.

Locations for 2013:
Washington County – September 25 Cancelled
Cattaraugus County – October 16
Rockland County – October 22
St. Lawrence County – November 5 (new date)
Schenectady County – November 13 (new)
Onondaga County – December 11

Although we are planning for a large enrollment, seating will be limited. You must, therefore, receive confirmation of acceptance to attend. You must use the application to register. It can be downloaded by clicking here, or by going to the DCJS training calendar and scroll to the date preferred and download it from the website itself. The calendar is located at: http://calendar.dcjs.state.ny.us/

If you have any questions concerning the training please contact Senior Training Technician Raymond Neves at the address in the letterhead, by email at raymond.neves@dcjs.ny.gov or by telephone at 800-346-3543.

toolbox announcement_fall_2013.pdf

[danb 10]

Shame this does not appeare to be open to FD's. I can think of a handfull of searched for at risk subjects in the past 3-4 years that my department alone has assisted in....

[markmets415 524]

thanks for the post, I just sent a request for attend for one of the dates, looks to a very good topic, In the spring I attended a train the trainer course and got certified to instruct on response to calls involving all types of persons with disabilities which is supposed to be rolled out soon through The Office of People with Developmental Disabilities to agencies in the specific demographics, my area it looks to be at least 8 counties of the Hudson/Harlem Valley.

[x635 4,066]

Sounds like a great class. Isn't there one geared for the fire service as well?

[velcroMedic1987 330]

Shame this does not appeare to be open to FD's. I can think of a handfull of searched for at risk subjects in the past 3-4 years that my department alone has assisted in....

Your department "assisted" in the searches. Searches for missing, especially endangered missing, are generally a law enforcement matter and we (fire, EMS, etc.) support their operations.