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Incident No: 79 2018

Date: 27 April 2018
Time: 20.33 hrs
Location: Pennine Way, Cheviot Hills

As Team members were settling down for a Friday night in, Border Search and Rescue Unit requested our support for an overdue walker on the #PennineWay. As part of our agreed #CrossBorder procedure, North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team and ourselves responded. The walker in his 70s had been last seen at Phillip’s Cross as they headed along the Border Ridge towards Cocklawfoot in the Bowmont Water valley on the Scottish side.

This gave us an initial linear route of 25km to search in the dark!

As temperatures were falling to zero degrees on the tops of the hills, hasty teams from both sides of the Border and a Search And Rescue Dog Association England team were deployed. A #Coastguard helicopter was also requested to assist.

Whilst other members were travelling to Upper Coquetdale in Northumberland National Park, news came in that the walker had made their way safely off the hill to Barrowburn farm. He had made a ‘slight’ navigational error near #WindyGyle, heading south into England instead of north into Scotland. Oops!

A big ‘thank you’ to the farmer and his wife at Barrowburn for the much needed cups of tea!

#Team999

The incident involved 15 Team members for 3 hours.

#NNPMRTincidents2018

Please like and share to raise awareness of the #volunteer#MountainRescueteams and remember we can only provide this emergency service with your support, www.justgiving.com/nnpmrt. Thank you.

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Incident No: 37 2017

Date: 6 August 2017
Time: 14.08hrs
Location: Bamburgh Castle

Northumbria Police requested our support, alongside North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team, to assist in organising and coordinating a search for a missing 7 year old child around the beach area of Bamburgh Castle. The Coastguard and RNLI had also been requested along with the NPAS helicopter.

The Teams were placed on standby while more information was gained and a search strategy developed.

Shortly after being placed on standby, the NPAS helicopter located the child on the beach who was then picked up by a Police officer.

#NNPMRTincidents2017

Please like and share to raise awareness of the work of the voluntary Mountain Rescue Teams

Mountain Rescue

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Exercise Northumberland

Last weekend the Team was involved in a research project led by The Centre for Search Research and Newcastle University Business School. The research was designed to explore the effectiveness of searching on the ground and in the air.

Over two days our search groups and search dog, Tess, and her handler were put to the test on the ground searching routes and areas on the moors near Rothbury.

QuestUAV and Northumberland National Park Authority were involved in testing fixed wing and rotor drones to search a defined route and area, and the UK Civil Air Patrol used planes and a helicopter to search the same areas.

From an incident control perspective the research gave us a great opportunity to put some of our technology to the test in tracking search groups and accurately recording what had and hadn’t been searched. We also worked with QuestUAV to analyse the digital imagery produced from the fixed wing drone to locate the missing persons.

A highly beneficial couple of days with observers from Northumbria Police, the National Police Air Support Unit, Northumberland Fire & Rescue and the Coastguard.

#WorkingTogether

Just one of the UAVs used at weekend... oh and can you spot Tess?
Just one of the UAVs used at weekend… oh and can you spot Tess?
Analysing the digital imagery from the UAV
Analysing the digital imagery from the UAV
A stitched together image from the fixed wing UAV ©QuestUAV
A stitched together image from the fixed wing UAV ©QuestUAV
Can you spot the missing persons dressed in blue?
Can you spot the missing persons dressed in blue?