As part of an ongoing training scenario Greater Manchester Police today hosted a joint exercise with the Bolton MRT primarily to give live exercise experience to 8 newly qualified GMP Missing Person Search Managers.

A training cadre of 3 experienced GMP Missing Person Search Managers organised an exercise in the Lever Park and River Douglas (Tiger’s Clough) areas involving a missing person, with various items relating to this person being scattered throughout the area for searchers to find.

Observing the exercise were other officers from GMP including a large number from the Dog section.

Search control RVP at Rivington & Blackrod High School

Briefing the parties before their search commenced

23 Bolton MRT members took part alongside 5 of our colleagues from Cheshire Lowland Search and Rescue Team, in the full day’s search exercise which culminated in the finding of an exercise casualty who then had to be evacuated down from the nearby moorland slopes.

A party of searchers get news of an exercise casualty ’find’ and figure out the best way of getting equipment to the scene

At the exercise casualty site, the team members change from ’search mode’ into ’evacuate’ mode, and work to get the casualty back to a place of safety.

Excellent on-demand catering was provided by 3 members of the Bolton MRT support group, Gillian, Hazel and Emma, who operating out of our catering trailer kept everybody supplied with bacon butties and hot drinks throughout the day.

As the exercise was concluding team members going to the exercise casualty site chanced upon a party of walkers, one of whom had sustained an injured left knee. This injured man, along with one of his companions, was brought back to our search control in a team vehicle. As this injury had happened to the party at quite a distance from their vehicle, a member of the party was driven in a team landrover to collect their car whilst we fed & watered the other members of the party.

As the exercise concluded with a debrief, the team was contacted by NWAS with regards to a #article#1458#Peak Demand call# in the local vicinity.

This search management exercise was considered a great success and certainly put the 8 new search managers through their paces, it also served to reinforce the excellent links the team has with all the Greater Manchester Police search managers and the members of the GMP Search Unit.