VIRTUAL SEARCH WITH PAUL BURKE

After the Virtual Search Plan is provided...what's next?

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 16:51:03 -0700

If you've been following our podcast we've been talking at length about the process of Virtual Search Planning and the deliverables it produces: plans for searching for other, mapping for resources, case analyses..., but what do you actually do with the plan? Who gets it (or should get it), and how it is used. We will clear that up for you and bring this effort full circle.

Recognition_-Primed Decision making for SAR

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 16:47:14 -0700

Critical decisions are made ever day, but often the majority of us see this as nothing more than a random act with unknown consequences. In fact, often individuals make these decisions and they appears reckless and without thought. In many cases that evaluation couldn't be further from the truth. What you may be seeing is the use of RPD.

What is Recognition-Primed Decision making and how is it used in a wide variety of critical decision making incidents? This podcast sheds light on what it is, how it is acquired and maintained, and what it looks like when you see it in action.

Dementia: The Cambria CA Search

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 16:37:34 -0700

In the Summer of 2006, I was asked to train 60 Naval Sea Cadets in a course for Land Search and Rescue Technician at Camp San Louis Obispo, CA. As background, Naval Sea Cadets is a youth development program sponsored by the Navy, aimed at teaching young people 10-18 years of age about naval operations, leadership, and teamwork. This particular group were from 14-18, and hailed from various locations across the US. While they were expected to learn what it takes to properly search for and recover missing persons, never in their (or my) wildest dreams did they expect to work an actual search, let alone find a subject and save his life! This story showcases many great things: The impact these programs can have on high school kids by teaching them life skills and leadership when it counts, but also how a community, an agency, and even an old search and rescue guy can learn a few things from the next generation. While VSP was not a formal program at the time of this search, it was part of the foundation for VSP in how behavior and information join together to create a picture of the lost. And if you happened to be one of those Naval Sea Cadets who trained in the summer of 2006 with us, we'd love to hear from you!

Social Media in the "Annie" Schmidt Search

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:44:12 -0700

This is the story of a 2016 search in which VSP assisted the Multnomah Co. Sheriff's Office in Oregon. Ms. Schmidt had recently moved to Portland from her childhood home in Utah, and just shortly before a visit by her mother, Ms. Schmidt went missing. Her vehicle was located in a parking area along the Colombia River east of Portland, a spot known for its hiking trails and scenic view. After a multi-day operation, the search was suspended. VSP was contacted and asked to review the facts surrounding the subject. Subsequent work and analysis eventually led the agency to look in another location which led to her personal effects being located, and subsequently Ms. Schmidt being located deceased. This search highlights the additional information and analysis used to locate the subject, and how, in some occasions, you may be looking for someone completely different from what you first thought.

Searching for Children on the Autism Spectrum

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:28:31 -0700

The search for a missing child is often difficult, made more so if the child is somewhere on the autism spectrum. Understanding the issues associated with their physical and social development takes more consideration than the average child. In this podcast we discuss some of the symptoms, social interaction and communications challenges faced by search planners and field resources. We also look at patterns of behavior that can help search planners better understand possible areas that will aid in their recovery. While this sessions talks about a missing 4 year old autistic boy from Georgia lost in 2024, it is similar to many autism subjects and their search outcomes. For those with further interest in this subject, we urge you to check out the following websites for more information: https://www.autismspeaks.org/

Autism spectrum disorder - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Jacksonville FL 2019 (Part 1): A Paradigm Shift

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 10:54:12 -0700

This is an earlier search performed at a time when Virtual Search was coming into its own, and the request of a city desperate to locate two missing children. The story is broken into two parts, with this podcast focused on how Virtual Search was designed and delivered to work for missing persons. From a "process' designed to focus on the subject, and the "just-in-time" training of competent fire and police agencies, Virtual Search collaborated with the City of Jacksonville FL to locate and return two missing children at Christmas. The story was documented in the July 2021 issue of Florida Fire Service, and became the foundation of the MEPSAR Program (Part II).

Searching for Despondent Subjects

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 10:44:12 -0700

Hey, just a quick heads up. In this episode we talk about suicide and mental health. If that feels heavy or hard to hear right now, please take care of yourself first, and listen to this at your own pace and in a safe place. If you need support, you don’t have to go through it alone. Help is always available. The National Help Line is 988.

The successful search of an individual in a despondent state, or one contemplating suicide, has its foundation in their prior history and other critical factors discussed in this podcast. This is an analytical look at these factors and where they lead us to find the missing person. Search Managers and resources should have a thorough understanding of how these factor will affect your subject, and aid in search detection.

Weather and its role in Search: Annabelle Follosco

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 19:30:54 -0600

Often searchers think of weather and its effects on search operations and the resources, but weather before, during, and after a person goes missing can play a significant role, and control what that subject does. In the Follosco search a random picture opens the door to a significant yet fleeting weather event that was missed by searchers during the initial operation. A small fact found in a posted "selfie" provided enough information and drove a search to a completely different conclusion.

The Classic Virtual Search: Samuel Ferguson

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 19:22:15 -0600

The Virtual Search Planning process is based on foundational skills and a process to take data and convert that data to what is referred to as "actionable Intelligence". It is the analysis of this data that defines search operations and leads well-trained tactical resources to the very best conclusion of any search, the finding of the subject. Follow us while we talk about the search for Samuel Ferguson and the positive outcome after four days lost.

Specialized Search Operations: Thomas Nazarro (Part II)

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 17:42:08 -0600

In this Podcast we finish the story regarding the search operations for Thomas Nazarro in 1999. We talk about specialized search resources and how we had to acquire unique capabilities in support of a safe and effective search. We conclude with some discussion of management efforts related to highly technical search operations .

Specialized Search Operations: Thomas Nazarro (Part 1)

Mon, 26 May 2025 16:02:28 -0600

Thomas Nazarro, 17, of Durham New Hampshire, convinced his mother that the NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) course to learn Alaska Mountaineering would be a perfect graduation gift. In July of 1999, Nazarro then vanishes on a glacier in Alaska, and the resulting search requires extreme safety measures and clever resource usage to keep the search going. One of the most unique and dangerous environments sets the backdrop to the true story of the Nazarro Search, by the Trooper responsible for the mission and the management of resources. Although this has been talked about in other podcasts and stories, finally, the truth about the operation and its challenges, and the roles we often have to fill with families of the subjects, our agencies, and the public comes to light. In the end, it is often others who determine our success. A "must listen".

The Dementia Subject: Barbara Doyle

Mon, 26 May 2025 15:46:39 -0600

One of the most common searches in the United States is that involving a subject with Dementia. We often use the term "Dementia", but in fact it is one type in the common, general grouping of a set of symptoms, the most common being Alzheimer's. There are, of course, other forms with specific causation, but generally, dementia describes a condition that affects memory, thinking, and social abilities, which interfere with daily life. While there is a discussion on this condition in this episode, it relates to its effect on a missing subject and does not explore the underlying conditions or treatment of this condition.

Barbara Doyle, 74, from Belle Vista, AR disappeared from Brookfield Assisted Living on Aug 12, 2021 at 3 PM. At the time of her disappearance, she was being admitted as a patient in their Memory Care section. Doyle left through an exit door that was alarmed, but a staff member did not know she was being registered at the time as a patient.

Staff had Doyle on camera acting in what was described as an "elusive manner", attempting to leave the facility, according to police officials. Although a Virtual Search analysis was performed and provided on this incident on day one, it was never acted upon. Doyle was located on day eight at the location recommended in the analysis.

Joshua McClatchy and the Long Hike

Fri, 23 May 2025 15:38:50 -0600

For Virtual Search Analysts, entering a search operation on day seven can be incredibly difficult and frustrating, considering how vulnerable people can become in the wilderness over time. Joshua McClatchy had been missing six days in the Caney Creek Wilderness of Arkansas, decreasing the chances McClatchy would be found alive. Search resources failed to locate him in spite of their efforts. Through the State Search and Rescue Coordinator, John Luther, Virtual Search was called to provide additional analysis in a last effort to locate the missing man. Analysis and direction from Paul Burke compelled the local Sheriff to fly one last helicopter flight with limited fuel to a location provided by Burke. Within minutes of arriving to the area, McClatchy's phone was picked up through the helicopter's forward-looking infra-red system, and searchers were directed to the location where they found McClatchy.

The story illustrates the effectiveness of the Virtual Search system on long-running search operations and the critical analysis process that supported the viability of the subject and the cause for action.

First Case: Shane McNeil

Fri, 23 May 2025 15:19:20 -0600

In September of 2010, Shane McNeil disappeared while walking the open desert between Henderson, Nevada, where he lived, and the Hoover Dam. The intended trip was more than 28 miles in temperatures exceeding 110 degrees. During the four days he was missing, well-intentioned search resources did not fully understand the subject they were looking for, and ignored simple data recovered from his cell phone. These clues eventually led searchers to his exact location and a tragic outcome.

On day three, Paul Burke and Ben McMinn were notified of the search and employed a process for analysis that has become "Virtual Search Planning". The process quickly developed a fact pattern that initiated actions by local search resources who discovered McNeil three hours later. Although McNeil was found deceased, the efforts of Burke and McMinn proved the rapid success of a process that has now been implemented nationally and internationally in the search for missing persons. The Shane McNeil incident is the story of how this came to be.

Virtual Search: In the Beginning

Fri, 23 May 2025 15:00:15 -0600

How did the concept of Virtual Search develop, and who is Paul Burke? While both of these topics will be discussed, this is really only the beginning of how this process became revolutionary in the field of search and rescue. After fifty years in the business of locating missing persons in the wilderness, Paul has developed both experience and processes that significantly increase the find rates for missing people. Between actual cases and their outcomes, and what lessons were learned in the process, Paul explores the search and rescue skills that others can learn from and use to find the lost.