Introduction to Man Tracking

1
Introduction to Man Tracking

• Developed as part of the National Emergency
  Services Curriculum Project

2
General

• Man-tracking allows a searcher to use visible
  search clues combined with a keen mind to locate
  a searcher

• Takes a long time to master, and continual
  practice to maintain abilities
• Not something to jump into overnight
• Listen to the trained man tracker, and stay out
  of his or her way, and dont damage evidence

3
Using Tracking Stick

• Shoe Size
• Stride Length
• Marking clues
• Walking into area
• Drawings/Pictures
• Step-by-Step Method

4
Track Stride Length Measurements
5
Common Shoe Sole Patterns
6
Evidence Handling

• Tag it
• Mark who found the object, where it was found and
  the date and time found. Wear gloves so that the
  tag does not contaminate the evidence.

• Bag it
• Use a clean bag, such as a Zip-Loc. These can be
  especially helpful in that they often have areas
  to write on the bags so that a tag may nor be
  necessary in the field.

7
Evidence Handling Continued

• Flag it
• At a crash site or any other crime scene you
  will normally note parts with flags provided by
  investigating officers so that it is in the same
  place as it was found rather than potentially
  disturbing the scene unnecessarily.

• If following a trail, try not to damage the trail.

8
Be Aware of Your Area

• Look around and be careful where you step! You
  dont want to ruin a track.
• A bystander stepping on a track and destroying it
  is unfortunate. A searcher stepping on a track
  and ruining it is inexcusable

• Use teams for safety. You can be so occupied
  searching for clues it is easy to loose a sense
  of your surroundings.

9
Man Tracking Tasks

• Ground Team Member
• O-0411 Conduct Individual Actions on Locating
  a Clue
• Ground Team Leader
• O-0421 Direct Team Actions On Locating a Clue
• ACUT-0008 Report a Clue or Find

10
QUESTIONS?
THINK SAFETY!