Dementia: The Cambria CA Search

In the Summer of 2006, I was asked to train 60 Naval Sea Cadets in a course for Land Search and Rescue Technician at Camp San Louis Obispo, CA. As background, Naval Sea Cadets is a youth development program sponsored by the Navy, aimed at teaching young people 10-18 years of age about naval operations, leadership, and teamwork. This particular group were from 14-18, and hailed from various locations across the US. While they were expected to learn what it takes to properly search for and recover missing persons, never in their (or my) wildest dreams did they expect to work an actual search, let alone find a subject and save his life! This story showcases many great things: The impact these programs can have on high school kids by teaching them life skills and leadership when it counts, but also how a community, an agency, and even an old search and rescue guy can learn a few things from the next generation.  While VSP was not a formal program at the time of this search, it was part of the foundation for VSP in how behavior and information join together to create a picture of the lost. And if you happened to be one of those Naval Sea Cadets who trained in the summer of 2006 with us, we'd love to hear from you!