At 20:00 this evening, our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE contacted the GMP Force Duty Officer to inform GMP (routinely) of our Wednesday evening exercise location, when coincidentally in reply the GMP FDO informed Garry that the team was being considered to take part in a search for a missing 12 year old boy in the Tonge Moor area of Bolton.

At 20:06 our Team Leader paged the team to cancel the exercise and hold at the exercise RVP until further information could be obtained.

At 20:12 the GMP FDO again contacted our Team Leader with the request to contact a GMP Missing Person search manager, which Garry did at 20:20 after first consulting with our Deputy Team Leader Chris Greenhalgh.

A full team callout message was made at 20:24 for all members to assemble at our Ladybridge Hall Base/HQ with our Team Leader, Deputy Team Leader and Steve Fletcher going direct to GMP Astley Bridge Police Station to receive a briefing from the GMP Missing Person search manager. Also requested to attend the police station directly was our Mountain Rescue trailing search dog handler Steve Nelson, navigator Elaine Gilliland and trailing search dog Boris.

Happily at 20:35, whilst our Team Leader was liaising with the GMP Missing Person search manager, the good news was received that the missing 12 year old whereabouts had been established, and a pager message at 20:46 concluded this search.

At this stage, circa 22 team callout list members were immediately available for this search operation with a further 8 team members stood down responding. Our Team Leader at this stage had also liaised with Cheshire SART Team Leader Simon Lane, and was about to contact RPMRT Team Leader Peter Goble to alert both teams to the possibility of their assistance if this search escalated.

So with tonight’s exercise cancelled and the search operation stood down, members enjoyed an earlier than usual evening finish to tonight’s team activities.