NYS Federation of SAR - News!
2005

Search Team Finds Boy Missing in Woods

Missing 7 year old boy

Oswego County

January 1st, 2005

Search for Missing Hiker

Hudson Highland State Park

Putnam County

January 11th, 2005

Myung Geuk Choi, 63, of Flushing, Queens, was suppose to meet a friend at the Cold Springs train station after hiking in the Hudson Highlands State Park on January 2nd. A friend had left Choi at a trail head on Breakneck Mountain which was the last time Choi was seen. After a search of the park by friends and family Sunday night, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office was notified. According to friends and family, Choi had hiked regularly in the park and was familiar with the area and the trails.
On Monday, the park was searched by a combination of police agencies, park service, specialized search teams, fire departments, and K9 units. No volunteer SAR teams were involved. Bad weather- freezing rain, snow, and sleet, combined with the treacherous terrain, severely hampered search efforts.
An ongoing investigation and search effort failed to turn up any clues as to the where abouts of Choi. Federation SAR units were requested to assist with the search on Tuesday, January 11th, but with heavy snow starting late that day, search efforts were terminated after several hours in the interest of safety. Further search efforts would have to wait on warmer weather and safer conditions.
On January 28th, the body of Choi was discovered by an ice climber investigating an ice formation, 300 yards east of Route 9d, at the bottom of a 100 foot cliff. A subsequent autopsy determined that Choi had died from blunt force trauma as the result of a fall, and the death was accidental.

Weather Hampers Searchers

MIssing 24 Year Old

Monroe County

January 21st, 2005

Missing Woman Located 20 Miles From Home

Auburn, NY

Cayuga County

March 9th, 2005

Drowning Victim's Body Still Not Found

Deposit, NY

Broome County

April 6, 2005

Heavy rains in the Southern Tier caused extensive flooding over the weekend of April 2nd. At around 12:30 AM, Sunday morning, two men left a local bar in Deposit and attempted to make their way home in a white mini van. Their normal route was flooded so they apparently tried a small residential street parallel to the flooded creek. There is some question as to whether that street was barricaded prior to the men's attempt to use it as a detour.
Witnesses saw lights coming across the park in that area around the time the men would have been traveling. The lights dimmed out and then swung around as the vehicle was apparently afloat in the flood. The witnesses called 911 and attempted to prevent the van from floating away, down the river. Although they could not attach a chain to the vehicle, they did get a look inside and they could not see the occupants, other than one of the men's dalmation dog.
The empty van was located by helicopter approximately 200 yards downstrean and removed from the river on Monday. Search dogs from Amigo Search Dogs and Pathfinders were brought in to assist Forest Rangers and Law Enforcement in the search for the missing men on Tuesday the 5th. High water, and strong current precluded the use of most boats, and only air boats were used on the river. K9's were restricted to working the shoreline. At around 1030 Tuesday morning a boat crew discovered the body of one of the men about 5 miles downstream. Later in the day, the body of the dalmation dog was discovered approximately 2 miles downstream from the van.
Active searching continued until Thursday, with additional K9 units from various teams participating. On April 12th, with no success in locating the second body, the search was called off.

Lost Child Found at Long Pond

Croghan, NY

Lewis County

April 18th, 2005

A nine year old child was found at about 12:15 Monday, April 18th near the east end of Long Pond. According to a press release from the Lewis County Sheriff's Department, the child was reported missing at around 8:30 AM from the Oswegatchie Camp after he decided to separate from a group and go exploring on his own. Sheriff's Deputies, along with the NYSP, NYS DEC Forest Rangers, Lewis County SAR, and the Croghan Fire Department assisted in the search. The child was located by a Fire Department boat that was patrolling the shoreline. The child required no medical assistance.

Missing Student's Body Found

Ithaca, NY

Tompkins County

April 27th, 2005

Dan Pirfo, a 19 year old male student at Cornell University, was reported missing at 1 AM Monday the 26th, by his roommate. Pirfo had last been seen at 4:45 AM Sunday morning in another room in the dorm. An unconfirmed sighting put him in the student lounge at 9 AM Sunday morning. Pirfo had reportedly been drinking Saturday night.
Cornell Police, along with the Ithaca PD and the NY State Police helicopter conducted a search of the campus buildings and grounds, along with the river gorge that cuts through the campus.
On Wednesday, the 27th, K9's were brought in from Western NY Search Dogs, and Cayuga County SAR to assist with building searches and a search of Lake Beebe. No alerts were recorded and both the buildings and the lake were cleared. No further K9 assistance was requested. Students did perform a search of the grounds, and a continued investigation by LE did not turn up any new leads.
On Tuesday, May 10th, three men fishing in Fall Creek Gorge, discovered a body at the base of the falls. The body was later identified as Pirfo, and his death was ruled as accidental.

13 Year Old Child Hides From Searchers

Dewitt, NY

Onondaga County

May 2nd, 2005

A 13 year old male being taken to a Doctor's Office for counseling, ran away from his mother into the woods as they arrived at the office in a residential area at around 1430. When the child could not be located, local LE became involved along with the NYSP helicopter. The child, from out of town, was not familiar with the area, and was making his first visit to this doctor's office. Two hours after the child disappeared, local SAR units were requested to assist in the search, when the helicopter reported a subject matching the subject's description had been seen entering a wooded area along the old canal park.
First SAR units along with the local Forest Rangers arrived on scene around 1700. A tracking team was sent out to attempt to verify the sighting and obtain a direction of travel. Local LE was utilized to contain the area and prevent the child from going beyond the canal. Grid and K9 teams were dispatched to areas indicated by the tracking team following a fresh, but as yet, unconfirmed track.
At around 2052 the subject was located in the vicinity of the doctor's office by a LE unit that was assigned to that area.

Child Located by Police K9

Orwell, NY

Oswego County

May 15th, 2005

An 11 year old male child, Nicholas, was camping with his family in a rural area. With no outdoors experience and in an area that he was unfamiliar with, the subject, who is bi-polar, had an argument with a friend while they were exploring a beaver dam, and took off into the woods away from the direction of the camp site. That took place at around noon. When the family could not locate the child, the County Sheriff's Department was alerted by the 911 center and a deputy dispatched, arriving on the scene at around 1400. After an initial investigation, the Oswego County SAR team was activated for assistance at 1431. Both Cayuga County and Onondaga County SAR teams were activated for mutual aid given the circumstances and the size of the area to be covered. Arriving on scene at 1519 a command post was established and an initial search plan was put together. With a good LKP (Last Known Point) and available scent material, the NYSP K9 unit was tasked with attempting to track the child. Local fire and LE was used to patrol the roads and trails around the area. Air scent dogs were given initial assignments, a tracking team was put together if the LE K9 could not pick up a scent trail, and the Onondaga County Air One helicopter was on scene for airborne searching.
At approximately 1620, the LE K9 reported that they had located the child about 3/4 mile N of the LKP. The child was uninjured and able to walk out. The K9 handler indicated that the dog had immediately taken to the scent trail and led them directly to the child. The child was not attempting to hide and did call out to the searchers (one advantage of being lost in black fly season). The child reported that he did see that helicopter and waved to them as they flew over, but the helicopter apparently did not see him.

Lost Children Call Home

Redfield, NY

Oswego County

May 29th, 2005

3 Children, ages 14, 13, and 10, were visiting at their grandmother's camp in Redfield. The children left the camp around 1400 with the family dog to go to a creek approximately 200 yard behind the camp. When the kids did not return after an hour or so, the family and neighbors attempted to locate them by searching the woods on ATV's and on foot. No sign of the children could be found so the parents called 911 around 1600. Search and Rescue was automatically put standby at 1607 while a county sheriff's unit was sent to investigate.
At 1630 the deputy on the scene activated both the Redfield Fire Department and the SAR team. A NYSP K9 on scene was sent into the woods as soon as civilian searchers could be cleared from the woods. SAR arrived on the scene at 1711 with a K9 unit, command post, and additional units en route. At 1715 the grandmother received a phone call from the children. They did not know where they were, and could only describe their location. They were on dirt road and had found a car parked there with a cell phone in the front seat (what's the chance of that?). Although they had poor cell phone service (they could not get 911) they did remember their grandmother's phone number. Based on the description of the location the children gave (dirt road, realty sign), Redfield FD dispatched a vehicle to retrieve them. Kids were back at camp at 1745.
The children said that the dog had taken off and that they went after it. By the time they had the dog, they had no idea where they were. Believe they were about 1.2 miles from camp when located.

Missing Boy, 8, Located Safe

Altmar, NY

Oswego County

June 21, 2005

Manny Torres, an 8 year old 1st grade student at the Altmar Elementary School, was seen by his 10 year old sister when he arrived home via the school bus at around 1600. The boy's mother works at the school from 1500 to 2300 week days, so she was not home to see him. Manny had several friends and relatives in the neighborhood that he typically plays with and visits.
At around 1830, Manny's cousins, who live next door, realized that the boy had not come home for dinner and that no one had seen him since coming home from school. Friends and relatives started searching the village for Manny, and after no success, contacted the 911 Center at around 2045. The local Fire Department and law enforcement were activated and the SAR team was notified of the incident. At about the same time, several thunderstorms moved thru the area.
An investigation by the NYSP and fire department personnel produced reports of sightings of the boy at 1800 and 2000 at locations in the village including the school playground. Playmates of the boy who lived in the village were interviewed and none of them reported seeing Manny that afternoon. Village streets and several locations in the village, including the river banks, were searched, but no sign of the boy was found. At around 2200 the SAR team was activated and on scene at 2230.
An interview with the mother, and other members of the family revealed that the subject often stayed out late in the evening with little supervision. He was known to visit the playground and various sites around the village looking for friends, but did not generally go along the river or the wooded areas. He had several school friends that lived outside of the village. His bicycle was still at home. Re-interviews of the people that had reported seeing the subject earlier proved those reports to be false. The subject's father, who lived elsewhere was contacted by the NYSP to see if he knew the where abouts of the subject. A media release was issued in hopes of catching the 11 PM news, although being a very rural area, there was little chance that the boy would have been seen or noticed.
The schools's principle was contacted, as his teacher could not be located, and came to the command post to provide background on the subject and to assist with a search of the school itself. The principal also initiated calls to each of the subject's classmates' homes. A thorough search of the school and it's grounds was started and K9 units were tasked with searching the fields and trails around the school.
At 2328 a call was received at the Command Post that the child had been located and was being brought to the CP. As it turns out, the subject had arranged to spend the night at the home of a friend who lived well outside of the village, without telling anyone in his family. The friend's father had picked up the subject just after 1600 and was under the impression that the subject had cleared the visit with his mother. According to the subject, he had tried to call home several times during the evening, but the line was either busy or no one answered. The friend's father, after putting the two boys to bed just before 2300, happened to turn on the 11PM news and was surprised to see the media release on the missing boy. He called the State Police at the number provided and arranged to return the subject.
Interestingly, the calls placed to the classmates' residences would have located the child. The call made to the residence that the subject was at, went unanswered as the father and the boys were already en route to the Command Post.

Missing Aircraft, Pilot Located

Hardyston, NJ

Sussex County

June 19th, 2005

-No Report On File-

Missing Youngsters Located

Scriba, NY

Oswego County

July, 2005

-No Report On File-

Missing Youth Located in State Park

Richland, NY

Oswego County

July, 2005

-No Report On File-

Man Eludes Law Enforcement

South Onondaga, NY

Onondaga County

July 8th, 2005

At around 0200 a 21 year old male contacted his ex-girl friend via phone from her residence (she was not home), which he had broken into, and indicated that he might commit suicide by medication. A county sheriff's unit dispatched to the residence found the subject's car. Outside the residence, the deputy also located the portable phone from which the subject had called. A search of the area was conducted by law enforcement and a possible track was located leading away from the residence, across the road to the east. As the subject had a criminal record which involved drug use, there was a strong feeling that the suicide threat was credible. The county's helicopter was dispatched to the scene to search using FLIR and it's night sun, but the subject could not be located.
At around 0600 the local SAR team was requested and, using the mutual aid system, additional SAR resources were brought in from surrounding counties. In addition, the local Forest Rangers were requested.
First SAR units were on the scene by 0700 and a plan was put together to systematically search the area using K9 units and grid teams. One of the first K9 units assigned to the areas of the LKP apparently started to get close to where the subject had been hiding and caused him to get up an move away from the K9 unit. As he moved away, he encountered a deputy who had been assigned to watch the subject's vehicle and the subject was taken into custody at 0928.

Federation SAR Teams Assist in Search for Missing Woman

Cicero, NY

Onondaga/Madison County

July 10th, 2005

Search and Rescue Teams from Cayuga, Onondaga, and Oswego Counties, along with Western NY Search Dogs assisted the Chittenango Police Department in searching for clues in the disappearance of Lori Leonard. Lori, a 33 year single mother of two, disappeared from her Chittenango residence on May 4th, 2005. During the initial search of the residence and surrounding areas by Law Enforcement, no clues were discovered to lead to the location of Lori, although it was strongly suspected that her disappearance was the result of criminal activity. A "person of interest" was identified through the course of the investigation, but without Lori's body and evidence linking her to the individual, no charges could be made.
At the request of the family, the Federation was asked to contact the Chittenango Police Department to offer search resources. Because the potential search area covered hundreds of miles between the village of Chittenango and the suspect's home town of Hudson Falls, the PD was appreciative of the additional resources and readily identified areas of interest that should be searched. On Saturday July 9th, using information from the CPD, a preliminary survey of the Cicero Swamp area was performed and a search plan developed for the following day. On Sunday morning, search resources were assembled, teams briefed, and given search assignments. Five K9 units along with grid teams cleared all of the assigned areas by noon. Although no clues were found relating to Lori's disappearance several items were discovered during the search that did require local law enforcement involvement and resulted in the return of missing property to at least one individual.
Additional search efforts in the Hudson Falls area, using local Federation SAR teams was in process when a boater's discovery led to the discovery of Lori's body.
Additional News' Story

A Word of Thanks

Drowning Victim's Body Recovered

Scipio, NY

Cayuga County

July 10th, 2005

A 47 year old male who slipped off a personal watercraft in Owasco Lake was presumed drowned after failing to surface. The subject was not wearing a personal floation device. The call came into the 911 center at around 1430 and rescue teams from several local Fire Departments, and the county, responded.
Cayuga County Search and Rescue was contacted around 1530 for assistance and responded with two K-9,s and a K9 unit from Western NY Search Dogs. On the water at around 1800 and using a rough location based on eye witnesses from shore, the K9's reported multiple alerts with the stongest alert point marked. Divers searched that area, in approximately 71 feet of water for more than an hour. At around 2000 a diver surfacing, short on air, encountered the body, but was unable to secure it. Dive operations were suspended at that time.
The following morning, K9 units were back on the water prior to dive operations. Using GPS coordinates from the previous day and new "alert" information, a search location was marked with a buoy. Divers located the subjects body at around 1030, within about 30 yards of the buoy.

Search for Missing Woman Scaled Back

Glens Falls, NY

Warren County

August 9th, 2005

No clues to the where abouts of a missing 69 year old female have been found after 5 days of searching. Eleanor Kelly, has been known to wander away from her home in the past, but never for this long. Reported missing on Monday, by her son's girlfriend, the subject suffers from Alzheimers and dimentia. A search for the subject commenced on Tuesday and involved the Glens Falls Police Department, NYS DEC Forest Rangers, Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue, and volunteer searchers. The Glens Falls PD followed up on potential sightings of the subject, but none of them have proven fruitful. Police have no indications that the subject was harmed or left under duress. Search operations were scaled back on Saturday as police stated that "they have covered all of the areas they beleived she could be".