March 2020: The height of the Coronavirus Pandemic. In a small town in eastern Washington an “at risk” youth has been missing for two days. Search efforts have been fruitless and the weather is deteriorating. Local SAR authorities call the State Emergency Management Department and request assistance from the Washington State SAR Planning Unit.

Established in 2018 to provide expert planning resources for complex or extended searches, the WA State Planning Unit won’t have a problem with social distancing: Most of their all-volunteer members are sheltered in place in the Seattle area, some 250 miles from the search incident. But how are they going to be able to help from halfway across the state?

Fortunately, “remote search planning” is exactly what the Planning Unit has been pioneering. Team activation and coordination are done using GroupMe messaging. Interactive planning sessions are conducted via Zoom web conferencing. Online SARTopo mapping allows multiple members to simultaneously view and update the mission map as it is being developed. Google Docs supports multiple users updating the search plan document, and allows shared spreadsheets to be used to calculate search area probabilities. Internet connectivity is used to link in advanced GIS applications for quantitative analysis of searching efforts.

The Planning Unit uses all of these tools and techniques to produce and deliver a “Remote Search Plan,” a compilation of recommended search objectives and search assignments, accompanied by detailed maps, that is emailed to the on-site search Incident Commander. We then remain in contact, to assess search effectiveness and progress and to update plans as needed.

And so, in March 2020, during the height of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Washington State Planning Unit activated their normal remote-planning infrastructure to deliver search guidance 250 miles away. We were able to confirm to local SAR authorities that their initial search efforts were well-planned. The missing youth was found safe on Day 3 of the search.