Staying findable: trip plan, staying put, leaving clues

A search always starts with two questions: where was the person last known to be safe, and where were they heading? Search teams use the last known point and the planned route as their starting point. The more precise this information, the smaller the area they have to search.

A search area grows very quickly when the missing person moves. Every hour of wandering can lead in any direction, and the area does not just get longer but larger in all directions. Staying in one place keeps the area small and saves strength and warmth at the same time.

Rescuers search with different means: on foot, with dogs, with vehicles, from the air and by locating phones. That is why visible, audible and electronic signals complement each other. A bright cloth helps the helicopter, a whistle helps the team in the forest, a switched-on phone helps the dispatch centre.

A good trip plan fits on a note or in a message. It includes: starting point and destination, the planned route and possible alternative routes, who is coming, what gear you carry (for example tent, lamp, colour of your jackets), which vehicle you are using and where it is parked, and the latest return time.

The most important part is a clear agreement: from what time should the contact call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) if they have not heard from you? Without this agreement they might wait too long because they do not want to overreact.

If your plan changes, tell your contact. And just as important: check in when you are back. Otherwise a search may be started although you have long been home – which ties up rescuers needed elsewhere.

Staying is usually right when someone knows about you, the place is safe and you do not know exactly which way leads out. Then choose a clearly visible spot nearby, such as the edge of a clearing, a path or an open area. After a breakdown in remote areas, a vehicle is usually easier to find than a person on foot.

Staying is wrong when the place itself is dangerous: rising water, fire, risk of avalanche or rockfall. Then you get to safety first, as close by as possible, and if you can, leave a sign or message showing where you went.

There is no rule that always applies. Someone who knows for certain that nobody will miss them, and who knows a safe route, may decide differently. Then clues become especially important: a note at the starting point with the time and direction, arrows made of stones or branches, and staying on paths where possible.

Waiting means getting cold, even on mild days. Protection from wind, wet and ground cold comes first: sit on your pack, a mat or branches rather than directly on the ground, put on every layer you have and find shelter from the wind. Prepare your signals so that you can give them from inside your shelter.

Whistle around your neck, lamp within reach, bright cloth or ground signs laid out – that way you are ready as soon as searchers come. Respond at once when you hear calls, whistles, engines or helicopters. Three whistle blasts are a widely used distress signal.

Keep the phone in power-saving mode or switch it on at agreed times and answer callbacks, including from unknown numbers. A trip plan does not replace an emergency call: if you have signal and are in trouble, call.

Children who are lost often keep walking or even hide from searchers – sometimes because they are afraid of getting into trouble, sometimes because they do not want to answer strange adults. That is why it is so important to talk about it beforehand.

A simple rule taught by programmes for children: if you are lost, stay by a tree or in one place, blow your whistle and answer when someone calls your name. Tell your child clearly that nobody will be angry and that they may answer searchers even if they do not know them.

Give children a whistle and a bright jacket or hat on outings. Practise staying put and whistling as a game, for example in the park. What a child has practised once is easier to do in a real emergency.