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14 December 2011: Midshires Called to Assist Cambridgeshire SAR

Called to help Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue look for a despondent male. He was later found alive and well..

19 November 2011: Lost in St.Albans

We were called to help find a missing dementia sufferer. The team were stood down whilst deploying as the missing person was found 10 miles from where he was last seen.

10-12 November 2011: Sad end to 3 day search

The team spent several days searching woodland in the Borehamwood area for a missing male. He was found deceased during the 3rd day of searching.

August / September 2011: Busy time for Cambridgeshire SAR

The team assisted Cambridgeshire over a number of weekends in the search for a missing female. On one such search, teams were redeployed to another high risk missing person search.

21 August 2011: Missing in Essex

The team were called to assist Essex in the search for a missing female. Fields and woodland close to the home were searched. The young lady was subsequently found deceased.

21 August 2011: Member Success at Bank Search Level

This weekend saw six of our provisional members attend a course to become qualified as Bank Searchers. The course was based in Hertford.

All of the participants successfully completed the course and will soon be able to go out on searches by the water. So congratulations to our new Bank Searchers pictured below with their instructors.

20 August 2011: Trip to Kent

We received a request for assistance from Kent Search & Rescue on the 19th August to help with a search the following morning. Teams were stood down when the missing person was found alive and well that evening.he team were called to assist Essex in the search for a missing female. Fields and woodland close to the home were searched. The young lady was subsequently found deceased.

15 August 2011: Search for a Crime Scene

The team were put on stand-by to help look for a specific crime scene. WE were stood down as new intelligence meant we were no longer required. The police found what they were looking for a couple of days later.

14 August 2011: Member Success at Search Technician

This weekend saw five of our provisional members attend their course to become Search Technicians. The course was based in the Ampthill Scout Hut and Ampthill Park for the practical elements.

All of the participants successfully completed the course and will soon be out on searches with us. So congratulations to our new Search Technicians pictured left with their instructors.

Back row(l to r): Damien Hinchliffe, Karen Rees, Scott Cable, Jane Fogden, Dave Creamer.

Front row (l to r): Dave Housley, Elaine Murphy, Michelle Brophy, Spud Murphy.

6 August 2011: Member Success at Bank Search Level

This weekend saw three of our members attend a course to become qualified as Bank Searchers. The course was based in Hertford.

All of the participants successfully completed the course and will now be able to go out on searches by the water. So congratulations to our first Bank Searchers Adrian, Michelle and Sarah.

3-5 August 2011: High profile search in St.Albans

Midshires, assisted by teams from Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Lowland Search Dogs joined police in the search for a missing gentleman suffering from Alzheimers. Around 100 personnel participated on day 1. Searching continued for a further 2 days.

31 July 2011: Holiday sadness

Called to a holiday park to search for a missing male who was last seen entering the lake. We were assisted by teams from Bucks SAR and Lowland Search Dogs. Teams searched all the grounds and caravans in the park whilst our newly skilled water team searched the shallow waters along the banks of the lake. Police dive teams later recovered a body from the water.

30 July 2011: MSAR on Twitter

There is now a new way of keeping up to date with everything Midshires related for all those computer minded people out there, as Midshires is now on Twitter. Our account will keep you up to date as things happen from searches, support events and training courses plus lots more. We also aim to include articles on there that show how some of the cases progress after Midshires stops being involved

20 July 2011: High Risk in Royston

Midshires were assisted by Cambridgeshire Search & Rescue to look for a gentleman in Royston who had failed to return home for vital medication. The man was found alive and well just as the teams were about to commence searching.

7 June 2011: Suspicious Package at Fire HQ

The team were placed on standby after a suspicious package was delivered to the Fire HQ in Kempston. A small scale evacuation took place but as the package was soon declared safe and only a few people had arrived at the rest centre, Midshires members were not required.

2 June 2011: Quick Callout for Thames Valley Police

Midshires were called by Thames Valley Police to assist in the search for a missing 53yr old woman in the Nether Worton area. The team was called again minutes later after the lady had been successfully located.

5 May 2011: Missing Teenager in Ware

Looking for a missing 16yr old girl, Midshires members searched areas of wood around her school and then the areas between the local canal, river and lake in the hope of locating her in the area her phone pinged to. After nothing was found in search area the team was stood down while the police carried out further enquiries. These enquiries lead to the MISPER being located in a residential address within the area of the phone ping. MISPER was safe and well28 April 2011: A Happy Ending In West Bergholt

Three Midshires members went down to West Bergholt near Colchester to assist in a search for 83yr old male. They spent a few hours searching alongside Essex SAR as well as teams from Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. Covering fields around the last known position, until one of the MISPER’s relatives located him just beyond the areas the teams were currently in. Apart from a possibly dislocated knee the MISPER was alive and well.

30 March 2011: Successful End to Watford Search

Midshires spent the 27 and 29 March searching areas of woodland in the Watford area, searching for a missing 44yr old male. The search was relocated into Bedfordshire to some woods near Old Warden. This was obviously the right move as the man was located in the third area to be searched. Our thanks go to the other ALSAR units who assisted, as well as Bucks Chiltern Search Dogs who provided members for this search.

3 March 2011: Possible Unexploded Bomb Found in Biggleswade

A possible unexploded device found in a Biggleswade street resulted in Midshires being put on standby for setting up a Rest Centre in case residents were required to evacuate the area. Luckily, the device was found to be harmless, so no evacuation was required. Midshires were stood down before deployment.

February 2011: Midshires Called to Assist Cambridgeshire SAR

Midshires were called out to assist Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue on two occasions within a week of each other to search for missing people in the Peterborough area.

The first search lasted for three days and was to find a missing woman. Unfortunately, she was found deceased. The second search, which also lasted for three days, was to find a teenager who went missing while making his way home late one evening. After extensive searches of the river and surrounding areas, nothing was found and the search was called off. At time of writing (March 2011), the young man has still not been found.

6 February 2011: Member Success on Search Technician Course

This weekend saw four of our Provisional Members (Roger Slater, Catherine Walker, Lindsey Moss and Ron Bridger) attend their course to become Search Technicians. The course was based in the stunning Rushmere Park with views over a lake and heronry. Many thanks, to the Greensand Trust for the use of their land.

All of the participants successfully completed the course and will soon be out on searches with us. So congratulations to our new Search technicians (pictured left) with their instructors.

Back row (l to r): Roger Slater, John Creasey, Lindsey Moss, Stephen Murphy. Front row (l to r): Catherine Walker, Ron Bridger, Dave Housley.

14 January 2011: Missing Man in Great Linford Area

A man had gone missing in the Great Linford area of Milton Keynes after leaving a pub to make his way home. Midshires spent two days with the police searching canal banks and other areas of water and woodland, but nothing was found.

Some three weeks later, the body of a man was found in the Grand Union Canal, and has been identified as the missing person.

2 January 2011: Search Near Stevington

Bedfordshire police asked for our help in searching for a possible missing person after a pile of clothes were found on the edge of the road near Stevington, Bedfordshire. Although nobody had been reported as missing, the police wanted to check that no harm had come to anyone.

Searches were carried out of the fields and river edges around the scene, but nothing was found. The search was therefore called off until more information was received.

25 December 2010: Happy Christmas

Midshires would like to take this opportunity to wish all its member, supporters and friends a Merry Christmas and to thank Jack Cooper for his great Christmas card design.

27 November 2010: Midshires Take to the Alleys

Midshires members gathered in Luton on the 27th November and for once it wasn’t for a callout. The team got together for a bowling social with the normal competitive rivalries. Fun was had by all who attended. Our champions of the night (pictured right) are looking forward to the next time they can show us all what they are made of.

21 November 2010: Midshires Receive Introduction to Tracking Skills

Midshires members were very impressed with the recent training given by Kevan Palmer, our guest speaker from Woodland Ways. Members were introduced to the possibilities of tracking a missing person as an additional tool to supplement our current search techniques. Although not commonly used in the UK, tracking is a vital tool to help find missing people in other parts of the world.

The follow up practical training session on the following Sunday was both informative and entertaining, and all present came away with a strong conviction that they would be able to extend their knowledge and put this valuable training into practice on future searches. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Kevan for spending so much of his time in preparing and giving this valuable training.

The picture above shows Kevan explaining to our members some of the inferences that can be taken from footprints on the ground...

and some members putting the tracking training into practice.

6 November 2010: Gas Explosion In Luton?

Following a reported gas explosion in Luton, Midshires were called to assist in a reception centre for residents evacuated from the area. The reported explosion was soon downgraded to that of gas being detected in the building, and only a small number of residents were evacuated.

Two police officers were overcome by fumes when entering the premises and some areas of the building appeared to have been sealed up with tape. As a result, the police had to treat the incident as a possible "chemical suicide", but it was eventually found to be caused by fumes coming from smouldering furniture.

9 October 2010: Search for Missing Man in Stevenage

Midshires were called to assist in the search for a man missing from his Stevenage home since early on the previous day.

The team had just assembled at a farm where the man had reportedly been sighted the previous day and were beginning to deploy when news came that the man had been spotted on the streets close to his home.

24 August 2010: Possible Grenade Found in Luton

A possible grenade, discovered in Luton, meant that residents in the area may have needed to be evacuated until the device had been made safe. Midshires were put on standby to set up a Rest Centre for those evacuated.

Police suspected that the device may be a smoke grenade rather than the more explosive sort, so decided to restrict residents in their homes until this was confirmed. Fortunately it did turn out to be a smoke grenade, so the Rest Centre was not required.

16 July 2010: Kitchen Fire in Luton

A fire in a kitchen at a block of flats in the Hockwell Ring area of Luton resulted in Midshires being called out to set up a Rest Centre to house evacuees. The warden of the flats managed to find accomodation for all those residents affected by the fire, so the Rest Centre was not needed.

Nobody was injured in the fire, but the resident in the flat where the fire started was taken to hospital for treatment for a medical condidtion which may have been partly responsible for the fire starting.

19 June 2010: Midshires Assist Sussex Search and Rescue

Despite being well outside of our search area, Midshires responded to a call from Sussex Search and Rescue to assist in the search for a missing male in the Wisley Lane area of Surrey. The man had been missing for nearly two weeks, so little hope was held of him being found alive.

Unfortunately, a body was found in woodland near Ockham.

15 June 2010: Concert Success for the Ampthill Singers

The Ampthill Singers kindly chose Midshires, as one of the recipients of their fundraising this year. Their successful concerts last year enabled them to present us with a very generous amount which is much appreciated.

The picture shows Stephen Murphy (left), receiving the cheque on behalf of Midshires from Dave Hempsall.

8 June 2010: Midshires Assist Oxford Search Team

Midshires, along with other neighbouring search teams, were called by ISIS Search and Rescue team to assist in the search for a missing male near Horton-cum-Studley, Oxfordshire.

Woodlands searched in pouring rain, but no trace was found of the missing person. A body was recovered some days later by a police dog team.

22-23 May 2010: Video Shoot for Midshires

Many Midshires members spent two very hot days in Ampthill taking part in a video shoot. A short video is being made for Midshires to promote the work that we do and hopefully attract new members. It can be used at talks to allow people to get a better perspective of actual searches, as well as online to promote Midshires to a far larger audience. We would like to thank everyone who was able to give up their time including our volunteer ‘misper’ Roberta, who we fortunately found safe and well, and a special thank you to the film crew for making it such an enjoyable experience. We all look forward to seeing the final product.

12 May 2010: Missing Female in Bedfordshire Wood

Called in the late evening by the police to help search for a woman who was missing somewhere in woodland in Mid-Bedfordshire, but using mobile phone to contact police. Midshires called when police became concerned for her safety.

Despite thick woodland cover, a heat signature was detected by the police helicopter and the woman taken into police care. Midshires were asked to remain on-site until the woman had been safely secured.

12 April 2010: Midshires Receive Grant from Caddington

During late December 2009 many from Midshires got to know the roads of Caddington very well as they walked them in the snow delivering leaflets. Now things have returned to normal, Caddington Parish Council kindly considered us eligible for a grant and it was presented to us by Tony Hansen, Chairman of the Parish Council at their Annual Parish Meeting on 12th April. This generosity is much appreciated and will enable us to purchase a new printer for our Control Vehicle.

The picture shows Stephen Jones (left), the Midshires Support Group Co-ordinator, receiving the grant on behalf of Midshires from Tony Hansen.

February 2010: Waitrose Community Matters

Midshires would like to thank Waitrose "Community Matters" and all those shoppers who supported us. We were very pleased to receive £480 towards our replacement vehicle.

21 February 2010: Search for Missing Man near Olney, Bucks

An elderly man had left his home during the afternoon of 20 February, and had not returned home by nightfall. Midshires were deployed by Thames Valley Police the next day to search Emberton Country Park and surrounding areas.

Large areas had already been searched when reports were received that the man had turned up at Northampton General Hospital. It is understood he had been walking all night and had been picked up by a motorist after injuring his knee. It is understood that he has made a full recovery.

19 February 2010: Explosive Device Found in Dunstable

A suspected explosive device was found on a building site at the junctions of Station Road and Church Road, Dunstable. Residents were evacuated from the area, initially to a local pub. Midshires were called out to help staff the Rest Centre and provide other help as required.

The team were stood down once the device had been made safe and residents were allowed to return to their homes.

7 February 2010: Man Missing from Home in Hoddesdon, Herts

Midshires were called out to search for a man not seen since leaving a pub more than a week earlier. There were concerns for the mans safety, as his route home passed near several watercourses.

No sign of the man was found during the search, but a body was recovered from underwater in the River Lea by specialist dive teams some days later.

January 2010: Various Incidents in Luton

On 4 January, a number of acetylene cylinders were found to be present in a fire, leading to a very real risk of expolosion. A number of homes were evacuated and a Rest Centre set up to house them.

Less than a week later, a power outage in Luton required door-to-door enquiries to identify elderly and other vulnerable people who may have required help.

Finally, on 25 January, Midshires were called when a gas leak was suspected to have played a part in a suspicious death in the town. Fortunately the area was declared safe quite quickly and the team did not need to deploy.