This morning at 09.34hrs Team Leader Simon Lane of Cheshire Search and Rescue Team, directly contacted our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, requesting the Bolton MRTs assistance with a search operation developing within the operational area of Cheshire SART.

At 09.42hrs a full team call out was paged resulting in six Bolton MRT team members being able to offer their immediate assistance.

The developing search operation involved a missing 77 year old woman, reported missing from her home address in Rixton, Warrington, Cheshire.

Her family and Cheshire Constabulary Officers were becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of the 77-year old woman, who has not been seen since around 14.00hrs on Thursday 15th January 2015.

It is believed she may have gone for a walk from her home on Rixton Park Homes, Moss Side Lane, Warrington, Cheshire.

We deployed four team members, Mark Scott, Alan James, John Dickinson and Steve O’Hara, in our Land Rover Defender Mountain Rescue Ambulance, radio call sign ‘Bolton Mobile 2.’

They departed our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ at circa 11.20hrs this wintry morning, and started their first search areas at circa 13.02hrs, after arriving at the search RVP for a briefing meeting at 12.10hrs.

We also deployed our Mountain Rescue Trailing Dog Team, consisting of Handler Steve Nelson, Navigator Elaine Gilliland and Trailing Search Dog Boris (Steve and Elaine are also members of SARDA Wales) who commenced their search trail at circa 12.05hrs, giving their unique assistance to the search operation.

Our team members and Trailing Dog Team worked alongside twenty one deployed Cheshire Search and Rescue Team members, British Transport Police, North West Police Search and Underwater Marine Unit and Cheshire Constabulary Officers, in the search focused around Rixton, Warrington.

By 17.45hrs Steve, Elaine and Boris had returned home after completing their part in this operation.

Our four other team members deployed, finished their allocated search areas at 17.30hrs, and following their search debriefing returned home.

Cheshire SART, NWPSUMU and Cheshire Constabulary continued with the search operation until late in to the evening, with the assistance of a helicopter from NPAS Barton.

Footnote; On Saturday morning 16th January 2015, Cheshire SART redeployed back to the area, to continue searching for the still missing 77 years old woman, we were unable to assist on this occasion due to the snow forecast for our own operational team area and the potential for incidents in our area.