TOVSAR

Top of Virginia Search and Rescue

info@TOVSAR.org

                                                                                                                        1/6/03

NEWS RELEASE

Top of Virginia Search and Rescue Group (TOVSAR) was slightly busier in 2002 than it was in 2001 with fourteen (14) call outs for missing persons compared to thirteen(13) for 2001.  TOVSAR conducted searches in seven (7) counties in Virginia and two (2) in West Virginia:  Buchanan (1), Chesterfield (2), Clarke (2), Culpepper (1), Frederick (2), Rockingham (2) and Warren (2) in Virginia, in West Virginia the counties of Morgan (1) and Hampshire (1).  Twenty-seven (27) professional volunteers responded accumulating over 605 search hours.  Search hours do not include the time in route nor the number of hours spent in training to maintain professionalism.  The fourteen searches involved:  a child under the age of four, nine adults between the ages of 16 to 64, and three elderly over the age of 65.  Several of these missions included Curly a K9 member of the SAR team.  Curly is a bloodhound owned and trained by Jim Coots.  In addition to Curly, three other bloodhound teams have joined TOVSAR.

  Between searches for missing persons, TOVSAR spent over 550 hours in professional training conducted by the VA Dept of Emergency Management.  These fifty hour courses included entry level field training in search and rescue techniques designed for the practitioner, principles of clue awareness, field team leader and managing the search.  Training is a big part of TOVSAR’s preparedness.  In addition to the state training members contributed over 401 hours of local training.  TOVSAR, is supported financially, in part, by Frederick County.

 TOVSAR is an all volunteer Search and Rescue Group who respond to assist law enforcement in searches for missing people.  The members of TOVSAR live in Winchester, Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah and Warren counties.  TOVSAR responds anywhere in Virginia and West Virginia when called by the VA Dept. of Emergency Services.  For more information visit our web site:  www. Tovsar.org

  For more information, contact Bill Penfield (540) 888-3188 or email at wfpenfield@earthlink.net