A major push is expected this weekend in the search for a missing Seattle firefighter who has been missing in a remote corner of Kittitas County for 10 days.

Seattle Deputy Fire Chief Jay Schreckengost was reported missing on Nov. 2 while scouting elk hunting locations near Cliffdell. Over the last 10 days, multiple agencies from across the region have mobilized in the search for Schreckengost, with daily searches averaging over 100 volunteers. The search is complicated by the steep terrain in the area, which is accessed by state Route 410, as well as snowy conditions at the altitude the search areas is located within.

Kittitas County Sherriffs Office Inspector Chris Whitsett said Thursdays search began before dawn, with search and rescue teams completing their briefing at Whistlin Jack Lodge prior to making the trek to the search area.

Weve got members of the incident command structure, including experts in operations, logistics, and planning, he said. All these people get together and coordinate all their assignments before deciding how to best distribute the resources on any given day.

As the search stretches into its second week, Whitsett said search and rescue teams have become intimately aware of the nuances within the search area, which is parceled out to effectively cover on foot. A search and rescue vehicle from King County contains a state planning team who work on mapping the search area in the push to allocate resources.

To aid in the effectiveness of search teams, Verizon and T-Mobile donated mobile cellular towers to provide coverage in the area, which would normally have none. Whitsett said a relay has been placed in the search area to extend the coverage for the teams on the ground.

They lent these from their own corporate resources, and were not paying a thing for it, he said. Otherwise, there would be zero cell signal.

CHALLENGING LOGISTICS

At the muster point for the search and rescue teams, Whitsett estimated the altitude to be approximately 2,300 feet. Although the center of the search area is approximately three miles from the muster point as the crow flies, he said teams must drive approximately 10 miles of dirt roads to access the area.

In those 10 miles, you gain almost 3,000 feet, he said. Youve got a significant elevation gain.

Whitsett said approximately 50 volunteers were working the search area on Thursday, a lower number he attributed to some crew members taking a break before what he expects to be a major push over the weekend.

Everybody has to take a down day at some point, he said. Weve had to start cycling our people out and telling them they have to take a day off, because people break if you dont do that. Last weekend on Saturday, we had over 150 people. On the weekend, a lot of search and rescue volunteers are able to come from all over the state.

With the KCSO leading the search, Whitsett said the partnerships forged between various agencies throughout the state for the effort to locate Schreckengost are critical, especially since search and rescue resources arent available at the state level.

The state relies on counties, and sheriffs offices are primarily responsible for search and rescue operations, he said. The state provides a support apparatus for the counties, and as this in our county, the incident command structure falls under our sheriffs office.

TRAINED EXPERTS

Although he said the KCSO has gotten immense feedback from residents wanting to help in the search process, Whitsett stressed that search and rescue crews are highly trained in the skills needed to conduct an operation of this magnitude, especially as it pertains to the challenging terrain and weather conditions in the search area.

The 153 people that came on last Saturday, every one of them has worked with, has trained with, and is certified under a formal search and rescue organization, he said. There are several benefits to that. There are liability and safety issues, and they know how to work a search.

Whitsett said team incident and operations commanders are also rotated out throughout the search to give team members a break during the grueling search effort.

There is a benefit to having continuity and having the same person the whole time, but its just not sustainable for anyone, he said.

Over the past 10 days, Whitsett said the incident command team has shifted between distinct phases in the search for Schreckengost. In the first days of the search, he said a team goal was to cover as much ground as possible. In recent days, he said that goal has shifted towards a more meticulous search with the understanding that Schreckengost has most likely taken shelter, making his location potentially more difficult to locate, especially when fresh snow falls in the search area.

He could be very well hidden, Whitsett said. Were going slower and using continual intelligence analysis from the planning folks that have expertise in human behavior in crises, who have studied what people do in survival situations like this. In cooperation with people who know this area, they help us to target where we focus, and then we go over those areas with a fine-toothed comb.

With Schreckengosts family on the ground participating in the search process, Whitsett said the search and rescue efforts will continue indefinitely.

Everybody who knows Chief Schreckengost has told us he has the personal resources and the training to know how to take care of himself in a crisis, he said. We have as much hope as we possibly can that hes been able to do that in this situation.

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Major Push Expected This Weekend in Search for Missing Seattle Firefighter - bigcountrynewsconnection.com