Jackson County Search and Rescue manager Mark Mihaljevich was purposely vague with details to the volunteers completing Search and Rescue Academy training. Joe's an elderly man, they don't know his last name, he's wearing a hunting vest and a hat, but they don't know what color.
In actuality, Joe is a duffel bag hidden somewhere on the rural county-owned Givan property off Agate Road, but the unclear details the search and rescue volunteers were given is a common beginning to a missing persons investigation.
"This is typical," instructor Micki Evans said.
Details may be incomplete or incorrect at first report, but clues can give rescuers a clearer picture.
"Finding little things is so important to the rest of the search," she said.
Clues are the building blocks to locating people.
"There are more clues than there are Bobs," SAR manager Eric Ronemus said on the field.
While leading a search team in the field exercise, Ronemus demonstrated optimal spacing for searchers by tossing his brown wallet on a grassy patch of wilderness, where it quickly faded from view in the vegetation.
The six volunteers in the team spread fewer than than 10 feet apart, allowing them adequate space to see clues the size of a wallet.
Other techniques learned included navigating by GPS and compass, in the event a GPS signal is lost, and proper crime scene management.
The first item the team came across was a geocache unrelated to their search. Searchers learn, especially in a public area such as a park, many items found won't be related to the search.
Among volunteers in the group was Greg Smith of Ashland, who works as a river guide and occasionally as an emergency medical technician.
Smith had spent two Thursday and Friday evenings and two full Saturdays and Sundays, a total of 40 hours, to training as a search and rescue volunteer. Volunteers undergo a separate 40-hour training when they first join SAR.
Smith said joining SAR was something he'd always wanted to do, and something his schedule allowed. He saw it as an opportunity to learn and grow.
"You're learning all the time," Smith said.
Although he's comfortable with the outdoors, Smith said he learned since joining that those who don't climb rocks or have advanced outdoor skills can still contribute something to a rescue.
"Everybody has something to offer," Smith said.
In the classroom, Evans taught volunteers to look in a "searcher's cube," not just tracking to see if there's a body on the ground. Evans said clues, many which can be hidden in vegetation or up in trees, are equally important in pinpointing a missing person's location.
"Look for what doesn't fit," she said.
Evans taught searchers to think beyond their expectation when searching. For example, "blue coat" may conjure different ideas that all meet the description.
"How many different shades of blue do you know?" Evans said. "It might look a little different."
SAR manager Chris Duran said the training tries to expose the SAR volunteers to many types of searches, whether it's locating a missing person who's purposely hiding, finding a missing child close to sunset or tracking down evidence when it's overcast. Often, time is of the essence.
"We don't search under the best conditions," Duran said. "We just search when we have to."
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