Units within our team…
Foot Search
Foot search is the core of all of OxSAR’s missing person search operations. All of OxSAR’s operational team are trained in foot search to the national Lowland Rescue standard. This training is focused on effective but efficient search allowing us to cover as much ground as possible and find missing people as quickly as possible.
Dog Search
Foot search is complemented by our K9 unit. OxSAR’s K9 unit comprises Air scenting search dog sections, ground scenting trailing dog sections and a water search dog section.
Drone Search
OxSAR utilises drones to search large open areas quickly allowing foot and K9 units to focus on difficult to access, built up or wooded areas.
The drone search unit is made up of pilots trained to the national Lowland Rescue standard and many have additional professional expertise in drone operations.
Water unit
OxSAR’s water unit are able to search in, on or around water safely, and are available to support the emergency services during flood events.
The water unit is made up of members trained as Flood and Swift Water First responders, Technicians and powerboat operators (Defra Mod 2, 3, and 4)
Search Management
Search Management is made up of a number of Lowland Rescue Search Managers, trained to manage large and protracted incidents.
They are supported by Search Planners, responsible for planning a search strategy based on information from the police and missing person behaviour statistics, and Search Operations managers, trained to implement this strategy and safety manage Lowland Rescue resources on scene.
Medical Unit
When a missing person is found, OxSAR is able to provide an immediate response to provide care.
All members are trained in basic life support and first aid, and a number of members are trained to be able to provide more advanced care and medical gases. OxSAR's medical unit also contains Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics, who volunteer their professional skill to not only care for patients, but lead the medical team and ensure the high quality first aid training across the team.
Our Equipment
Fleet
OxSAR boasts a modern fleet comprising an Incident Control Unit and a number of specialist support vehicles. They are based around the county, mostly housed by our partners Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
We need your help to keep these vital vehicles on the road.
Boats
OxSAR’s water team has access to three inflatable power boats, launched both on foot or via trailer on a slipway. Also alongside the boats, we have sonar and underwater capabilities.
Drones
OxSAR’s drone team use a number of airframes which can operate in a range of environments and scenarios.