Wooler

Incident Type: Search

On Monday evening, Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team were called out by Northumbria Police to assist in the search for a missing person in Wooler. The person went missing on Monday afternoon after heading towards the Duck Ponds on Wooler Common.

Over the course of the three days, more than 70 Mountain Rescue volunteers and specialist dog teams from the Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England were involved in the search, working alongside officers from Northumbria Police, the National Police Air Service (NPAS). The search effort was further strengthened by members of the local community, shepherds and game keepers on quad bikes, and the missing person’s family, who gave their time and energy to help.

Mountain Rescue teams were first deployed on Monday evening and continued through the night until 3.30am on Tuesday morning. Searching resumed mid-morning Tuesday before standing down at dark and again on Wednesday afternoon, covering extensive ground. The volunteers utilised handheld thermal imaging units and drones to aid the search.

Late on Wednesday afternoon, the missing person was located by members of the public on a steep hillside to the south-east of Wooler. After being assessed and treated by a North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Paramedic and Mountain Rescue medics, they were evacuated on a stretcher using a steep slope rescue system and to a footpath and then carried 300m to the waiting ambulance.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency helicopter, Rescue 199, from Prestwick and the Great North Air Ambulance Service had been tasked to assist but ultimately were stood down.

A true community efforts brought this long and complex incident to a successful conclusion. We would like to extend our thanks to everyone involved – our volunteers, partner agencies, and especially the local community who joined the search and provided food and refreshments for our volunteers.

The incident involved:
22 Team members for 8 hours overnight on Monday
27 Team members for 13 hours 10 minutes on Tuesday
23 Team members for 9 hours on Wednesday