About Us

About Midshires

Established in 1999, Midshires is dedicated to assisting in the search for members of the public who, for whatever reason, have gone missing.

The police carry out initial searches which are often successful in quickly locating the missing person. However, if these fail and the missing person is deemed to be especially vulnerable because of age or illness, or because of the situation or conditions prevailing at the time, then Midshires are likely to be called in to assist with, or lead, the search.

Composed entirely of volunteers, Midshires currently has some thirty members who take an active part in searches, with a small but vital support team who assist in maintenance of equipment, operating the callout process and raising funds.

We are entirely self-funded, raising money for equipment and other operating costs through organised events and via donations. We also apply for charitable and other grants when the opportunity arises, but the nature of our work and its geographical distribution often makes this surprisingly difficult.

Midshires operate a mobile control vehicle which gives us a base of operations when on a search. We are equipped with radios and other essential equipment to enable searches to be carried out efficiently, whatever the weather.

We are always keen to find additional members for the team and are pleased to hear from anybody who thinks they might like to help. Searchers need to be reasonably fit and happy to be out walking in town or countryside during the day or night. There is a minimum age requirement of 16 years, but there is no upper age limit providing you are fit enough to take part safely. If you are interested, please email us for further information at enquiries@midshires.org.uk.

Midshires is a member of the Association of Lowland Search and Rescue (ALSAR), a body which represents Lowland Search and Rescue on the UK Search and Rescue Operators Group. This body has representatives from all of the emergency services, Mountain Rescue and others involved in the provision of search and rescue in the UK.

Midshires are also members of the Bedfordshire and Luton Emergency Volunteers Executive Committee (BLEVEC), whose members are from voluntary organisations and provide assistance to the Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum (BLLRF) in the event of major incidents within the Bedfordshire and Luton areas.