Bloomington Leader

When an elderly woman with dementia went missing from her home in Monroe County, Indiana, a team led by John Summerlot, director of Emergency Management and Continuity for IU Public Safety, successfully located her within four hours. This incident highlights the practical application of skills taught in the Fundamentals of Search and Rescue course offered by Indiana University Bloomington.

The course, which has been taught by Summerlot for 12 years through IU Outdoor Adventure at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington, aims to equip individuals with the skills necessary to find lost or missing persons in rural and wilderness settings. "The purpose of the course is to train people to find lost or missing persons in rural and wilderness environments," Summerlot explained.

Open to both emergency personnel and the general public, the course includes classroom instruction as well as a field component where students conduct mock searches in wilderness areas. It attracts police officers, firefighters, campers, hikers, and IU students who can earn academic credit. Completing this course is a step toward national certification for those pursuing careers in outdoor experiences or public safety.

Students learn various skills such as land navigation, tracking, and mathematical probability to better allocate resources during searches. "You can’t search everywhere at one time," Summerlot noted. Factors like age and duration of disappearance help estimate how far a person might have traveled.

Summerlot emphasized the importance of early intervention when someone goes missing: "There’s a common misconception that a person needs to be missing 24 hours." He advises contacting authorities immediately rather than waiting.

For those interested in enrolling in the Fundamentals of Search and Rescue course before the January 31 deadline or needing equipment assistance, John Summerlot can be contacted at jopsumme@iu.edu.