Whilst present at the fourth annual (Greater Manchester) Emergency Services Open Day event today, at the intu Trafford Centre, Manchester, our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE was contacted directly by a GMP Missing Person Search Manager at 12.02hrs, to place the team on standby to take part in a developing search for a missing 49 years old man in the Abram / Bryn Gates area of Wigan.
Our Team Leader in discussion with GMP decided that the services of Rossendale and Pendle MRT and Cheshire SRT would also be required, and as the Deputy Team Leader Andy Simpson, of Rossendale and Pendle MRT was also present at the same Emergency services Open Day, Garry was able to liaise direct with Andy regards such.
Our Team Leader also contacted Cheshire SART alongside the involvement of our specialist Mountain Rescue Trailing Dog being confirmed.
At circa 14.00hrs following further contact with GMP, the team was requested to assist GMP in the search operation and a full team pager call out was made at 14.04hrs.
Firstly the team had to pack up all its display at the Emergency Services Open Day event, and return to our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ, where at 15.47hrs all vehicles then departed for the search RVP at GMP Bamfurlong Police Station in the Bryn Gates area.
Arriving by 16.20hrs, a full search control was established, with earlier arriving RPMRT members having already been deployed under the direction of RPMRT Deputy Team Leader Andy Simpson.
Our Mountain Rescue Trailing Search Dog Boris, with his handler Steve Nelson and colleague Bolton MRT Elaine Gilliland and Alistair Greenough had also deployed in to search areas by this time.
The missing man had already prompted the involvement of GMP search officers and the National Police Air Service, to which the resources of Bolton MRT, Rossendale and Pendle MRT and Cheshire SART were now added.
Also joining the search operation was Mick Dewar of GMFRS and his specialist USAR Search Dog Ace.
Throughout the late afternoon and in to the evening, the search intensified, covering the Bamfurlong, Bryn Gates and Abram areas.
By 21.30hrs all search taskings in this phase of the search operation had been completed, and most then departed the search RVP for home.
On scene search administration between our team and GMP was then completed with the last MRT resources – our Incident Control Vehicle with our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE and Diane Blakeley finally leaving the search RVP at 22.25hrs.
During this search operation, co-ordination and control was provided by our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, Deputy Team Leader Chris Greenhalgh, Diane Blakeley and Paul Brain.
Support Group members Gillian Gregory, Iain Clarkson and Dave Rees provided full catering from our Catering Trailer Unit throughout the entire search operation.
The following resources were directly involved in today’s search operations:
- Greater Manchester Police
- Three Missing Person Search Managers
- 4x Tactical Aid Units,
- Off Road Motorbike Unit
- 2x General Purpose Dog Teams
- Bolton Mountain Rescue Team
- Four Team Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulances
- Minibus / Crewbus Ambulance
- Incident Control vehicle
- SAR Boat (Not deployed)
- Catering Trailer Unit
- 22x Team Call Out list members and three members of our Support Group.
- Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue Team
- Toyota HiLux Mountain Rescue Ambulance
- Land Rover Discovery Mountain Rescue Ambulance
- Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulance
- 13x call out list members.
- Cheshire Search and Rescue Team
- Incident Control Vehicle
- 17x call out list members
- Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
- USAR Search Dog / Fire Accelerant Dog handler Mick Dewar, and USAR Search Dog Ace.
- SARDA Wales
- Mountain Rescue Trailing Search Dog Handler Steve Nelson
- Trailing Search Dog Boris
- Navigator Elaine Gilliland
- (Steve and Elaine are also Bolton MRT team members, and are also included in the BMRT total members involved figure above)
Police enquiries are continuing regarding establishing the whereabouts of this missing man.
