Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
LINE OF SIGN: Joel Hardin (with green backpack) shows how to use a tracking stick - the magic wand" - to find the next footprint placement on the ground.
EXAMINATION: Everything from how a piece of grass is bent to where the toe and heel impacted the ground are examined in tracking.
PATH OF POINTS: Small wooden dowels are placed as marking points of where a track begins and ends, then the tracking stick is marked to that distance in order to ascertain the next point of placement.
MARKING THE TRAIL: John Schramm (in plaid) and his teammates work the route of tracks made down the side of hill at Indiana University.
We see it in the movies - a crime; a footprint on the ground; and then someone who immediately knows which way the culprit went.
Well, the science behind tracking isn't immediate, but it is fascinating; a definitive skill all law enforcement, search and rescue, military specialists, and the like should have. Thanks to a training offered at Indiana University and helmed by Joel Hardin, from Idaho, of Joel Hardin Professional Tracking Service, many more individuals now have those precious skills.
Over three dozen individuals from across the country filtered in and out of the week long course - traveling as far as Massachusetts - to obtain Hardin's training. Hardin, who has been tracking and teaching since 1965, offers the course several times a year throughout the country. The course focuses on skills needed by rescue and police professionals, not on sport or animal tracking.
Dan Hagerty, recently retired Jefferson County police office and member of the Jefferson County Search and Rescue, has participated in the training fo the last six years.
"There are two objectives of the class - basic tracking, and training the trainers," Hagerty said. "The certification we acquire from this course is always needing to be updated - this is not a static certification." Participants are anywhere from beginner to over 20 years tracking experience.
Hagerty said Hardin's training has taught him a lot and the course is as meticulous and it is informational.
"I've used tracking in break-in situations to figure out the direction of travel, the number of suspects, a lot of different aspects," Hagerty said, noting that he's also been able to go out on a roadway and follow tracks to show direction.
"We look at evidence on the ground - indoor and outdoor terrain - and go from there, technology free," Hardin said. "About one in every ten people actually keep w it. They need the right personality - but it is very self rewarding."
The Jefferson County Search and Rescue falls under the Jefferson County Sheriff's department and must be activated by the Sheriff in order to respond to calls. Most states have a tracking association, like Wyoming does; but in Montana the county is the deciding factor. Madison County Search and Rescue participants have attended this training for many years, as the original location for the training was in Sheridan before it relocated to Indiana University. Currently Whitehall has three Search and Rescue members who have taken the course multiple times: Dan Hagerty, S&R Captain Cody Hagerty, and John Schramm.
The course is open to anyone, though those with prior knowledge of law enforcement, S&R, and military will benefit most, as the course is very technical. It is held the third week of August each year.
"If the Search and Rescue were dispatched more often, it would save law enforcement hundreds of thousands a year," Hardin said.
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