Avon & Somerset Search & Rescue

21 ASC Log no. 267 ASSAR was contacted as 11.33 with an urgent request for assistance with a search south of Bath for a missing child. The team was immediately called out. The police helicopter was requested at the same time and was able to assist with directing police at the scene to find the missing child safe and well. The team was stood down at 12.00.

20 ASC Log no. 188 ASSAR was contacted by Avon & Somerset Police at 10.39  requesting assistance with a high risk missing person in the Chipping Sodbury area. While discussions were taking place with ASSARs Search & Rescue Incident Controller the missing person was located safe and well by the police, no action was required by the team.

19 ASC Log no. 482. Concern grew during the day for the whereabouts of a high risk missing male in Radstock. ASSAR was contacted by the police requesting help with searching steep woodland in the surrounding countryside. ASSAR was called out at 18.15. Two parties deployed into separate wooded areas; one party of specialist searchers had steep, dense woodland and an open area of grassland to cover while the other party consisted of rope access specialists as they also had quarry areas to search. The missing person was not found in either area and the team was stood down at 22.42.

18 ASC Log No 686 ASSAR was contacted at 17.25 concerning a high risk missing person in the Frome area. The person was suspected of being in woodland and ASSAR was called out to search the area. The missing person was not found in this location meaning the police could continue other lines of investigation. The team was stood down at 20.15.

17 ASC Log 903 ASSAR was put on standby at 22.23 following a request from the police after a member of the public reported seeing something in the air above Pucklechurch, near Bristol, believed to be a parachute. Police responded and found a crashed drone. ASSAR was stood down minutes later at 22.38.

16 ASC log 586 ASSAR was contacted by Avon & Somerset Police concerning a member of the public stuck on a cliff face in Avon Gorge. A Search and Rescue Incident Controller from ASSAR attended the scene to liaise with attending emergency services. A climber was helped by the Fire Service meaning the specialist rescue skills of ASSAR were not required.

15 The team was called out by Avon and Somerset Police to help search for a high-risk missing person in the Arnos Vale area of Bristol at 13.08. ASSAR members deployed with the police to search a woodland area to start with. The ASSAR members then moved to another area to assist the police with their overall search plan. ASSAR was stood down at 18.30 pending further discussions with the police. Sadly the missing person was found deceased the next day outside of the search area.

14 ASC Log 311 ASSAR was contacted by police at 11.13 concerning a non-cooperative male on the cliff edge in Avon Gorge. ASSARs tech team was called out immediately. The person was moved to a place of safety while the team were en route. ASSAR was stood down at 11.44.

13 ASC Log No. 796 ASSAR was called out at 20.33 following a request from Avon & Somerset Police regarding a high risk missing person. The missing person’s vehicle had been found in Stockhill Woods car park, near Priddy on the Mendip Hills. Specialist search teams deployed in to the woodlands. All teams were urgently called back the car park as the missing person had returned to this area and was in urgent need of medical attention. ASSAR members carried out the required casualty care and then accompanied the police and casualty to hospital. ASSAR was stood down at 22.23.

12 ASC log no. 1033 (08/06/15).  The police control room contacted ASSARs Search and Rescue Incident Controller requesting assistance at 00:16 hrs.  A young vulnerable female was reported missing from an address in the Yeovil area of South Somerset. The team was put on stand by and then called out at 00:58.  The specific task was to search woodland and a river bank near to the home address. The casualty turned up safe and well at 01:52; and the team was stood down.

11 ASC log no. 551 ASSAR was contacted by SW Ambulance Service via Avon & Somerset Police requesting assistance to move an injured male from the top of Cheddar Gorge. ASSAR was called out at 14.32. Working with a paramedic team members assessed the casualty, treated him and formulated a plan for moving him to a place where he could be transferred to a road ambulance. The casualty, accompanied by the paramedic, was placed in an ASSAR 4×4 ambulance and moved to the bottom of the gorge. ASSAR personnel walked the other members of the group to safety. The team was stood down at 16.06

10 ASSAR was put on standby at 14.56 and then called out soon after to help search for a high risk and vulnerable missing female in the Hanham area of Bristol. Three specialist search teams were deployed for a bankside and woodland search. ASSAR was stood down at 19.13 pending further investigations by the police. The missing female was located safe and well by the police later that evening.

09 ASC log 288. An agitated, despondent male was seem leaving a café on the sea front at Portishead, giving the police cause for concerns over his safety. The police called the Coast Guard, police helicopter, and put A&S SAR on standby at 14:25 Hrs.  A control room was set up in the café with the police, Coast Guard and ASSAR. The Coast Guard searched the tidal foreshore around Portishead and the police helicopter was flown over a local search pattern, but nothing was found. Due to lack of any hard evidence, the incident was closed at 16:42 Hrs and the team stood down.

08 ASC log no: 653. The team SARIC was contacted by the police control room at 16:13 hrs, requesting assistance with a despondent male who was reported as being on the outside of the safety fence at the top of Avon Gorge. ASSARs Tech rescue team was called out at 16:31 and asked to offer technical assistance to police officers on scene and HART paramedics. The male was recovered to a place of safety and the team was stood down at 17:43 hrs.

07 ASC Log No. 1014.  The police contacted ASSARs Search and Rescue Incident Controller at 00:28 hrs to request assistance with a search for a missing high risk vulnerable male, in the Portishead area. A bicycle belonging to the male had been found near the top of a quarry, in woodland close to police HQ. The team was called out to RV at Police HQ.  The male was located by police and taken to hospital in Bristol.  The team was stood down at 01:28

06 The team was contacted by staff at Cheddar Gorge and Caves, notifying us that a dog and it’s female owner were on the cliffs in the Shute Gully area of Cheddar Gorge. The police were notified, and ASSARs Tech team placed on Standby. The Cheddar Gorge rock safety team accessed the female and recovered her to a place of safety (with her dog).  The team was stood down.

05 Assistance was requested by Exmoor Search and Rescue, to help locate a high risk 32 year old male in the Taunton area of Somerset. The team was put on ‘standby’, but the police found evidence that the male was alive and on the move, so the team was stood down.

04 ASC log no:384.  The team was called by police control room at 16:02 to assist the police with the search for a despondent male in the Stoke Sub Hamdon area of South Somerset. The police located the male, and the team was stood down at 17:07.  The Force Incident Manager subsequently requested that some team members attend the scene to assist with removal of evidence from a remote area. The team cleared the incident at 19:58.

03 27/02 to 03/03/15.  Avon & Somerset Police liaised extensively with the team over the events concerning a high risk missing teenage female in Bristol.  The team was put on ‘standby’ and called out on 02/03, to assist the police in a search of areas in North Bristol.  New evidence came to light very quickly and the team was stood down very soon after.

02 ASC Log 405. At 14:30 the SARIC received a call from the staff at Cheddar Caves reporting a female falling from the cliffs, and sustaining injuries.  Two members of the Caves staff were in attendance with her. The ASC police were informed, and a full Technical Team callout was arranged.  On arrival at the scene, it appeared the female had fallen about 70 feet and sustained injuries.

A SWAST paramedic was in attendance, followed by the S&D air ambulance. HART also attended from Bristol.  The RAF was contacted and they supplied a Seaking that winched the casualty to safety and transfer to Southmead hospital. The incident was stood down at 19:00.