New Lenox Search and Rescue, 1 Veterans Parkway, New Lenox, IL (2026)

10/17/2026

NEW LENOX SEARCH AND RESCUE / NIGHT SEARCH – OCTOBER 13, 2026

At 6:30pm on Tuesday October 13, 2026 thirteen members of New Lenox SAR met at the Pilcher Park Nature Preserve, off of Gougar road for the team’s monthly training.

This training began by having the team divide up into two teams and select a team lead from each team, Alpha and Bravo. The team leads met with Dan in the Pavilion who gave them each instructions, including a Compass azimuth and # of meters to an object located just inside the tree line of the woods. (Team Alpha – 0 Azimuth 60 meters, Team Bravo – 330 Azimuth 87 meters). Each team then went to the marker (orange flagging tape) and searched within 25 feet of the marker for a clue, containing a piece of paper with a QR code for CalTopo and instructions on where to search next. Team Alpha was to search in sector 101 and Team Bravo in sector 102.

Each team made their way to their sectors about ½ mile away, performed an AMDR (Average Maximum Distance Range), lined up accordingly and began searching for a missing boy (CPR dummy). The team leads selected flaggers for each end of the search line, kept the lines straight while progressing and managed the search effort. When Team Alpha found the ‘subject’ they called it into Command, marked it in CalTopo as a clue and were instructed to go to their next sector.

Team Alpha went to sector 103 and searched on the western edge (trail) up to 25 feet off of both sides of the trail. When they found the ‘subject’ they called it into Command, marked it in CalTopo and were given instructions to search on the eastern edge of sector 103. Team Bravo found their ‘subject’ in sector 102, called it into Command and marked it in CalTopo and Team Alpha found their ‘subject’ and did the same. Both teams were then instructed to return back to the Staging area (Pavilion) for a session debrief.

The team discussed the overall search effort, improvement opportunities and the upcoming SAR activities in Nov. and Dec. Everyone left Pilcher Park by 8:30pm.

The search disciplines that were highlighted for this exercise were:.

• Pace Count
• Compass
• CalTopo
• Line Spacing
• Flagging/Flanking
• Team Lead
• Night time Gear
• Hiking (cardio, about 2 miles total for each team)

Thank you to everyone who came out for this training and special thanks to Scott for helping with training prep!

NOVEMBER TRAINING: Next month 12 members of our team will be attending the annual Nov 8-9 ISARC conference in Clinton , Il. We will also combine our monthly training with our NLCERT Team on Nov 19th, which will consist of facilitating multiple stations and working closely with the CERT members on teaching various search disciplines.

09/18/2026

NEW LENOX SEARCH AND RESCUE / LOW ANGLE RESCUE TRAINING – SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
At 6:30pm on Wednesday September 16, 2026 thirteen members of New Lenox SAR met at the Messenger Woods for Low Angle Rescue Training.

The training began with a quick debrief of one of our transport backboard and spider straps. Rich walked everyone through the proper technique for securely fastening someone to the backboard for transport.

After that team hiked about ¼ mile with the backboard and a transport litter basket. We arrived at the top of a ravine where everyone hiked down to the dry creek bed about 50 feet below the top of the ridge. After dividing up into two teams, the mock search was on for a male who had been missing and his cell phone was recently pinged to this area. Within a few minutes he was found and the team worked together to strategize on the best location to pull him up this steep hill with a lot of vegetation, bushes, etc. It was made a little more difficult due to the heavy rains earlier that day so the footing was quite slick.

Joe affixed a long rope to an anchor tree at the top of the ridge and the team worked on carrying the victim (rescue Randy) to safety. This was done several more times for practice and then our young volunteer (one of our team member’s relative) was then secured to the litter and carefully lifted up the side of the ravine. We then did the same thing with Randy on the backboard with the spider straps to test that carrying technique up and down the ridge.

After 8:00pm we gathered all gear including 'Randy' and headed back to the parking lot for a debrief. A good discussion was held with the team on ideas for future training sessions and we also spoke about upcoming SAR events.

The search disciplines that were highlighted for this exercise were:

• Hiking, climbing
• Gear check - Boots, gloves, headlamps/flashlights
• Transport – Litter, backboard, straps, rope

It was quite a warm and sticky night. Thank you to everyone who came out for this training in very challenging conditions and special thanks to Joe for bringing his gear and leading the extraction process and to Lisa and Rich for also assisting with the training prep.

OCTOBER TRAINING: The next NLSAR training will take place 6:30 – 8:30pm on Tuesday October 13th tentatively scheduled at Pilcher Park. The topic will be a Night Search.

09/02/2026

CAROL STREAM SAR TRAINING / HELICOPTER PRESENTATION AND DEMONSTRATION – AUGUST 29, 2026
At 8:00am on Saturday Aug 29, 2026 five members of NLSAR Team met at the New Lenox Commons to carpool to the Carol Stream Helicopter Presentation and Demonstration. We met seven other NLSAR Team members at the Carol Stream PD at 9:00am for this training.
There were approximately 45 SAR members in attendance including other jurisdictions from Naperville, LaSalle County, Kendall County and others.

The first 90 minutes was in the classroom, conducted by a pilot from OSF Life Flight, which is a 24-hour helicopter air-medical transport service, serving Illinois since June 1984. OSF Life Flight has led the way in air ambulance service in the Midwest and continues to be one of the premier flight programs in the U.S.

This was a very interesting session, topics included:

• Equipment & Avionics
• Landing at airports or hospitals
• Communications
• Flight Requests, initial information needed to request a flight
• Flight Acceptance Procedures
• Scene Request “stand by”
• Landing Zone logistics, preparation and selecting an appropriate location
• UAS-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (drones)
• Landing and Ground Ops
• Takeoff & Departure
• Post Scene Procedures

After the classroom training, the attendees went approximately one mile to the Landing Zone, behind a baseball field on an open concrete pad. A helicopter landed and all SAR members spoke with the pilot and medical specialist on board, asked questions, took pictures and learned all about the helicopter and the process they follow for operating during a flight.

Thank you to everyone who came out for this training and special thanks to Carol Stream for hosting this awesome training session!

SEPTEMBER TRAINING: The next NLSAR training will take place 6:30 – 8:30pm on Wednesday, September 16th tentatively scheduled at Messenger Woods. The topic will be Night Search and Low Angle Rescue.

07/21/2026

NEW LENOX SEARCH AND RESCUE / NAVIGATION, COMPASS, FLAGGING/FLANKING – JULY 14, 2026

At 6:30pm on Tuesday July 14, 2026 thirteen members of New Lenox SAR met at the Water Treatment Plant, off of Cedar road just north of town for the team’s monthly training.

This was a very HOT, humid and sticky night for training with the real temperature in the mid 80’s and the feels like temp in the 90’s. A cooler of ice waters waere available to keep everyone cool and we met in a shady area to kick off the training, Dan Johnson provided a QR Code showing the four stations for Compass training and those stations had monitors for each: Joe, Lisa, Rich, Scott and Dan. After the briefing, all team members walked a 100 meter pace count to find ot what their pace is when searching in the field. If your pace count for 100 meters is 65 and you need to find something that is 40 meters away, you would multiply 65 x .40 which is 26. You would then walk on the appropriate Azimuth for 26 paces to find the object.

The four stations were:

1. Compass Triangle – Led by Joe Frigo, this provides practice with staying on an azimuth for three paths. First 0/360 degrees, then 120 degrees then 240 degrees. You should keep and distance pacing consistent so you will wind up exactly where you started, making a perfect triangle. They also did the reverse of the first way it was completed.

2. Flag Line (3-foot fiberglass poles) – Led by Dan Johnson, this was practice for placing flags in a straight line. Team members shot an azimuth to their assigned marker (flag). With 6 flagging poles in hand, team members walked toward their assigned cone at the correct azimuth to the flag. At every 10 steps, a fiberglass pole was placed into the ground. Team members checked their back azimuth at the 3rd or 4th placement. The exercise, which was repeated a number of times, was done to demonstrate that a solid flag line can be placed without having to constantly check a compass.

3. Correct Azimuth for landmarks – Let by Rich DeVault and Lisa Murphy, this session was practice using your compass and finding the correct azimuth for various landmarks in the distance….peak of a roof, light pole, etc.

4. Find Playing Cards using Azimuth/Meters – Scott Thompson led this station, where the team members stood directly on pre-determined spot and used various azimuth/meters to find playing cards in the field/woods. These five locations were listed in CalTopo like this: 345 Azimuth – 45 meters, 305 Azimuth – 48 meters, etc. Each team member used that data to find five playing cards.

The search disciplines that were highlighted for this exercise were:

• Compass
• CalTopo
• Pacing
• Hot Weather Gear

It was a very hot night. Thank you to everyone who came out for this training in very uncomfortable conditions and special thanks to Joe, Lisa, Rich and Scott for helping with training prep and leading their stations!

AUGUST TRAINING: The next NLSAR training will take place 6:30 – 8:30pm on Wednesday, August 12th tentatively scheduled at Pilcher Park. The topic will be Night Search and Low Angle Rescue.

05/17/2026

SEARCH AND RESCUE MONTHLY TRAINING – MAY 14, 2026
At 6:30pm on Thursday May 14, 2026 twelve members of the New Lenox Search and Rescue Team met at the Hickory Creek Preserve in Mokena for our monthly training. The training was a night hike and gear check.

Our NLSAR team met briefly in the parking lot and a QR code for CalTopo was provided to track the trails we going to cover in the woods. The team stayed together and we hiked on the Pink, Purple Lime and Orange trails for approximately 3 miles. The trails were in dry conditions so it wasn’t too difficult to navigate on them.

The team made it back to the Pavilion at 7:45pm where we took a hydration break before going into Tricia’s segment for Gear Check. The search and rescue supplies from our NLSAR bylaws were covered to ensure everyone has this gear with them on their vests at all times. A good discussion was had as everyone shared the gear they use for searches. We then brought out the new transport litter we recently acquired and tested it out. This litter is great as it breaks into two sections for easier storage and can hold up to 600 lbs. It will be used when we practice transport carries and will be available for callouts as well.

The search disciplines that were highlighted for this exercise were:

• Trail Map Navigation
• CalTopo
• Hiking
• Transport
• SAR Gear

Everyone exited Hickory Creek at 8:30pm. Special thanks to Lisa for assisting with the permit for this location and to Tricia for leading the Gear Check to ensure we all have the appropriate supplies with us at all times.
Also, special thanks to our NLSAR team members that attended this training. Great job!

04/16/2026

NEW LENOX SEARCH AND RESCUE / ANNUAL FIT TEST – April 14, 2026
At 6:30pm on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 sixteen members of New Lenox Search and Rescue met at Messenger Woods for the team’s Annual Fit Test. One member had an excused absence and will complete a make-up test on a date TBD.

Lisa Murphy had the lead on this training. Lisa and three other team members had made prior trips to Messenger Woods to design a course (fit test) that would closely resemble what we (ground searchers) do during a real activation. This test is the same course that was used for this fit test the last three years. It is a departure from the previous 3-mile course on a paved surface that our team had completed for many years. Instead, this course was designed to go through the woods on a dirt (muddy) trail, with many obstacles (tree roots, rocks, branches, etc.) to step over. The course, designed by Lisa and fellow team members, was approximately 2.6 miles and included changes in grade throughout the course.

Four team members who had previously completed the course went out to pre-designated locations to ensure that those taking the fit test stayed on course and were safe. Lisa provided a short briefing at 6:30pm and stayed at the start / finish line to ensure all finished within the allotted time. The course was challenging and MUCH different than the “standard” 3-mile course on a paved surface. There was some mud on the trail due to the recent storms. Everyone did a great job completing the course on time. Most importantly, team members found THIS course more reflective of what we actually do as searchers. Team members had their radios with them and random radio checks were made with everyone during the test. This ensured the safety of the walkers and it was a good test of our SAR radios.

Everyone finished within 5 minutes of each other and the average time was around 43 minutes. Following completion of the test a short de-briefing was held to discuss the course and ensure all were safe with no medical issues.

After the debrief, Joe Frigo spoke to the team to prep for the upcoming May NLSAR training which will include compass, navigation and map reading. He provided some key directions on these topics and answered questions from the team members.

Special thanks to Lisa, Joe and Rich who assisted her with designing the course and facilitating the test. Also, great job by Joe to help everyone understand navigation. Congratulations to everyone that completed the course!

MAY TRAINING: The next NLSAR training will take place 6:30 – 8:30pm on Tuesday, May 14th tentatively scheduled at Hickory Creek Preserve off of Route 30. The topic will be Navigation, Compass and Maps.

03/21/2026

SEARCH AND RESCUE MONTHLY TRAINING – MARCH 18, 2026
At 6:30pm on Wednesday March 18, 2026 thirteen members of the New Lenox Search and Rescue Team met at the Hickory Creek Preserve in Mokena for our monthly training. The training was a night search with the scenario being there were two boy scouts camping in the preserve and wandered away from their troop. Our team and other SAR teams were deployed to the area to perform a search.

Our NLSAR team met briefly in the parking lot and divided everyone into two teams, Alpha and Bravo. We were assigned Sector 105 which was approximately .75 miles from Command (parking lot). The Point Last Seen (PLS) for the boys was on the pink trail just east of the parking lot heading into the preserve. All members were given trail maps and the QR Code for CalTopo. Joe and Lisa assisted with this training and were also with each team during their search. The teams were to use the Lime and Orange trails as their border and their search line would follow the path of their respective trail until they met on the north side of the sector. The trails were quite muddy from the recent storms that occurred prior to the search and the search area also had quite a bit of standing water in some spots that everyone had to navigate around during the search.

Eventually the two CPR dummies (missing boys) were located and called into command. Both teams made it around the entire sector and after a brief safety check everyone headed back to command.

The search disciplines that were highlighted for this exercise were:

• Trail Map Navigation
• CalTopo
• Nighttime and cold weather gear test
• Line search

At 8:15 the team arrived back at the parking lot and Dan performed a debriefing. Joe and Lisa also provided their feedback and after a brief discussion, new batteries and pouches (for cell phones on our vests) were distributed.

Everyone exited Hickory Creek at 8:30pm. Special thanks to Lisa and Joe for their assistance with this training! We made multiple trips to this area to plan accordingly. Also, special thanks to our NLSAR team members that attended this training. Great job!

NEXT TRAINING: The April 14th training at 6:30pm will be our Annual Fit Test at a location TBD.

03/20/2026

SEARCH AND RESCUE MANAGEMENT TRAINING – MARCH 9, 2026

At 6:30pm on Monday March 9, 2026 two members of NLSAR attended the monthly Search and Rescue Management (SARM) Training. This was once again hosted by Naperville EMA (Mark Hinch) that provides SARM participants the opportunity to collaborate on SAR scenarios and work through the various disciplines to begin the planning for a search.

For this month’s training, the scenario focused on a missing 3-year-old boy. He was last seen eating ice cream in his house. After the family searched for him on their property, they called neighbors to help then the police.

Initially there was an open discussion to strategize on the best plan forward. We covered Lost Person Behavior (LPB) profile, SARTopo Map and questions for the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). We also discussed the forms that would be needed for the initial briefing to all the searchers. The meeting concluded at 7:30pm.

In this scenario, the boy was found 2 miles north of the Point Last Seen (PLS) about 12 hours later. We were all very surprised that he could have gone that far in that timeframe.

Overall, this was a valuable training that allowed all of us to once again practice our SARM skills. Special thanks to Mark Hinch, Naperville EMA for leading this monthly training.

The next training will take place on Monday, April 13th 6:30 – 8:00pm.

03/07/2026

SEARCH AND RESCUE MANAGEMENT QUARTERLY TRAINING – FEBRUARY 28, 2026

At 9:00am on Saturday, February 28, 2026 Dan Johnson attended the quarterly Search and Rescue Management (SARM) Training. The focus for this training was K9 support. The first two hours was in the classroom where we discussed the logistics of deploying dogs for searches.

Some of the key points discussed were:

• Integrating K9s, ground teams, drones and technology – Not relying on any single resource.
• Wind, Terrain & Water Considerations – Dogs work odor movement, not maps. Wind direction determines coverage strategy.
• Human Remains Dogs (HRD) – Do not require scent articles
• Scent Articles and Contamination Considerations – Early deployment is critical. Scene contamination increases rapidly.
• Best Practices for K9 Deployment – Work through K9 Coordinator, not individual handlers. Coordinator will be in Command.
• K9 Certification – Courts recognize three things: Trained, Certified and Reliable. Using uncertified dogs increases legal risk, operational reliability, false confidence for families and potential liability for agencies.
• SAR vs Law Enforcement – SAR K9s are scent specific. Reliability depends on certification, training and proper deployment.
• Understanding K9 Capabilities – Tracking: follows a specific path. Trailing: follows human scent movement. HRD: detects decomposition odor. Area Search: detects airborne human scent.
• Common Planning Mistakes – Trails designed too long, improper scent articles, K9s brought in too late, bad coordination between planning, Ops and K9 resources.

After the classroom portion there were three dogs that demonstrated K9 search techniques, trailing for a person and searching for weapons with a scent of animal fat on them to simulate it being used in a crime. The dogs were impressive as they found the person (Kim, about 200 yards away) and the multiple items placed in a large field.

Lastly, check out the last picture in the attachments, SARM – Six Steps. The second bullet in #5 is when teams are assigned. All of the bullets before that one must be addressed before SAR teams are assigned. This will give you an idea of the planning that goes into a search and why we are always waiting around upon arrival.

Special thanks to Naperville EMA for hosting this session and the K9 handlers for sharing their knowledge and the outside demonstrations with their dogs!

The next Quarterly SARM Training will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

02/21/2026

SEARCH AND RESCUE CPR / AED TRAINING – FEBRUARY 19, 2026
At 5:30pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2026 all seventeen members of the New Lenox Search and Rescue Team met at New Lenox Fire Protection District (NLFPD) Station #1, 261 E. Maple Street, New Lenox, IL for CPR / AED recertification. With permission of the instructors, Marissa Tomich / Fire & Life Safety Educator/Public Information Officer and Jamie Brown, NLFPD Fire Marshall, everyone enjoyed Beggar’s pizza and beverages due to the early start time of the class.

Marisa provided an overview of the American Heart Association (AHA), Basic Life Support, CPR and AED program. In short, the BLS (CPR / AED) Course teaches students:

• High-quality CPR for adults, children, and infants.
• AHA Chain of Survival, specifically the BLS components.
• Important early use of an AED.
• Effective ventilations using a barrier device.
• Importance of teams in multi-rescuer resuscitation and performance as an effective team member during multi-rescuer CPR.
• Relief of foreign-body airway obstruction (choking) for adults and infants.

Marisa and Jamie then played the first segment of the AHA video that accompanies the course. Following the video, the class was then provided with an opportunity to practice on the mannequins. This process (video then hands-on practice) was repeated for adult, child, and infant CPR. The video and hands-on practice was also utilized for the AED and airway obstruction sections. Our team completed the skills test(s) as well as the written exam at the conclusion of the training.

The email addresses off all team members were provided to Marisa before the meeting. Following a review of the written exam, everyone received their certification cards via email.
After a quick clean-up of the room, the course ended just before 8:30pm.

Special thanks to Marisa and Jamie for the outstanding instruction! They did an awesome job and shared relatable stories to help everyone understand the importance of this discipline. Also, special thanks to all of our NLSAR team members that attended this training. Everyone on the team is now certified until February, 2028!

NEXT TRAINING: The March 18th training at 6:30pm will be a Night Search, location TBD.

New Lenox Search and Rescue

10/17/2026

09/18/2026

09/02/2026

07/21/2026

05/17/2026

04/16/2026

03/21/2026

03/20/2026

03/07/2026

02/21/2026

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