Experience could
help in finding
lost hikersIn some states, authorities seek
By Jaymes K. Song
assistance from those who
know the areas well
Star-BulletinLocal expert hikers and volunteer rescuers on the mainland have a suggestion for search-and-rescue officials: Seek their assistance.
Police, fire and state conservation officers couldn't locate Danish visitors Marianne Konnerup and Anitta Winther after sweeping through the Kahana Valley with dogs, helicopters and watercraft for almost a week.
But three expert hikers from the Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club, in a search Sunday, spotted the two 20-year-old women coming down from a 2,265-foot-high mountain ridge.
On Oahu, officials from police, fire and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources are planning to meet soon to assess the search. The meeting is standard practice called "post incident analysis." A date for the meeting has not been set.
The Honolulu Police and Fire departments do not sanction volunteers assisting them in search-and-rescue efforts, citing liability.
"But we wouldn't stop volunteers to search on public trails," said Fire Capt. Richard Soo.
The three hikers -- Ken Suzuki, Thomas Yoza and Jim Pushaw -- knew there were only two areas of Kahana Valley where the women could be trapped for so long.
It's not a known hiking trail, Yoza said a few hours after the rescue. It's more of a trail used by hunters.
Although everyone, including Yoza, applauds the diligent work of the rescuers, he suggested it would be a good idea to contact hikers or anyone who knows the area well.
"It's something police and fire should consider," Yoza said, hours after the rescue. "We know a lot of trails. Maybe they should contact our club."
Officials said they did talk to a woman from a hiking club the first few days of the search. She told officials where previous lost hikers were and general information about the valley.
In the search for the Danes, the only assistance officials asked was to pass out flyers.
On the mainland, volunteers can play a pivotal role in mountain searches.
At Yosemite National Park in California, they have a program called VIP or "Volunteers in Parks." The park actually has expert hikers and mountain climbers living in the mountains for free.
The volunteers have very good knowledge of the park and are extremely qualified, said one Yosemite rescue official.
A program like VIP was created to assist with the hundreds of searches at Yosemite. So far this year, there have been 116 search-and-rescue missions.
Soo said California regularly uses volunteers because of the thousands and thousand of acres they have to cover.
In Washington state, all 60 volunteers of the Tacoma Mountain Rescue are insured by the county and are involved in about 15 missions per year.
Even with the coverage, no one has made any claims in the club's 41-year history.
John Simack founded the group in 1958 after a man in the mountains fell 300 feet and no one knew whom to call.
There are now similar groups in Europe and Australia.
Simack said the expert hikers, scuba divers and mountain climbers in the club know Mount Rainier National Park like "the back of their hands."
They are all first-aid trained and are equipped with the best gear. They are also certified through the state Department of Emergency Services.
