Bernadine Beyale and Alyssa Begay, members of the 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue, an organization based in Farmington, N.M. presented information, operational procedures and organizational techniques in conducting search and rescue in rural and urban areas at the SunUte Community Center in Ignacio, Saturday, April 19. The mission of the non-profit is, ‘By serving victims and families with empathy, compassion, and respect, we provide immediate hope, relief, and support during the agonizing trauma of having a missing loved one.’ Information about the organization can be found at, https://4ck9sar.org
Bernadine Beyale, Founder/CEO/K9 Handler holds a bulletin of current missing individuals from the Navajo Nation. As stated on their website, the 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue team works ‘to locate, rescue, and recover lost and missing persons on Native American Tribal Lands.’ They work in collaboration with families, volunteers, and local law enforcement agencies to find missing persons.
Alyssa Begay, a member of the 4Corners K-9 Search and Rescue discusses chain of command and hierarchy when conducting search and rescue, a key element when conducting a search and rescue operation with the goal of, ‘Finding Those Who Need to Be Found.’
Bernadine Beyale, Founder/CEO/K9 Handler points out the importance of organization, who’s leading the search, setting up a command post, and areas to be searched. Establishing lines of communication, stressing a point of contact for the family is essential when communicating information.
Daisy Bluestar, founder of Native Love, a local non-profit, asks questions about collaboration and the impacts of working with local law enforcement, during the search and rescue training sponsored by Native Love. Bluestar is also on the MMIR Task Force of Colorado, ‘a volunteer run grassroots organization that provides leadership – and support related to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives in the state of Colorado.’ See https://mmirtaskforceco.com/ for more information.
Photo Credit: Robert L. Ortiz | The Southern Ute Drum
Photo Credit: Robert L. Ortiz | The Southern Ute Drum
Photo Credit: Robert L. Ortiz | The Southern Ute Drum
Photo Credit: Robert L. Ortiz | The Southern Ute Drum
