RFS Search and Rescue mission

Today I played hookey from school to assist in an RFS search and rescue effort.

A young 19 year old Englishman left the Katoomba Youth Hostel last Friday morning saying he was going for a bushwalk. He hasn't been seen since. He has been out in the cold and rain for 6 nights now.

Answering a pager message last night, we gathered at our shed at 8 this morning and went up to the old Queen Victoria Hospital on Kings Tableland Road, Wentworth Falls for a briefing with other RFS brigades, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the State Emergency Service and the Police who were in charge of the operation. We stood around for ages waiting to be deployed - Karen must've sent me a Hurry Up and Wait on Facebook - then off we went down into the Kedumba Valley.

Once at the walking track we had to get ourselves in position to do a line search - we were separated into two groups and spread out in a line on each side of the walking track. It was slow progress at times, over rocky ground and bush bashing through some fairly thick brush. By lunchtime we were down at the bottom of the valley at the creek - it was very beautiful down there (see the Flickr slideshow):



Sadly, neither we nor the police dogs found the boy and so we had to climb back out for the night. Getting out was a bit arduous but we finally make it - after many "it's only five more minutes" - and crews being needed tomorrow, I've said I'll go again (if I can move tomorrow morning!)

I can't imagine how the boy's parents will be feeling. He's only a couple of years older than our two.

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