K94SAR
Oxford LandSAR Dog Team
Operation Douglas
The jokes were so bad that even Stig the search dog went to sleep standing up, leaning on the shoulder of Methven Land Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteer Brent Frame.
But Jamie Douglas wasn’t complaining. Those jokes kept him awake as he awaited rescue on a narrow ledge not even big enough to sit down on, after he lost contact with a hunting buddy during a day trip in the Pudding Hill Stream area on Wednesday. He ended up stranded on that ledge for 17 hours before he was flown out.
The jokes were coming from Mr Frame and Oxford SAR dog handler Dave Krehic who had managed to find a ledge not much bigger than Mr Douglas’, on loose material, 20m down a steep slope. It was the closest they could get to him and they had the job of keeping Mr Douglas awake during the night, and keeping his spirits up.
“We were trying to create a bit of humour to pass the time,” Mr Krehic said.
By the end of the night, they knew each other well.
“We talked about positive things; about ourselves and recent trips we’ve been on, weekend trips fishing and hunting,” Mr Krehic said.
“We didn’t really talk about the situation, the main thing we talked to him about was staying put until the specialist team arrived.”
They were able to keep him updated on progress on his rescue.
They informed him his mum and girlfriend knew he’d been found, through radio contact with headquarters, after Mr Krehic and Mr Frame got as close as they could to Mr Douglas around 2am.
“The first thing he said was ‘geez, I’m glad to hear you guys’,” Mr Frame said.
“The night was mild but he was pretty tired because he’d been there since just after 2pm on the Wednesday and there was not a lot of room for him to move around. So he wasn’t particularly happy, but he perked up.”
Mr Douglas was lightly clothed so he cut the sleeves off his jersey to put on his legs as he sheltered on the ledge.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter was sent, but had to turn back due to strong winds, meaning rescue was not likely until Mt Hutt Helicopter pilot Blair Chapman could strop him out at first light. There were concerns of the weather closing in before then, which added to the worries for Mr Douglas’ safety.
“If he had rolled off he might not have woken up,” said 12-year SAR veteran Mr Frame.
The two searchers had heard Mr Douglas’ voice from more than 1km away, shortly after a static search team had spotted LED lights from his Blackberry. Cellphone coverage was intermittent, but he had plenty of battery power.
When daylight broke and rescue was on the way, the searchers saw the way Stig had brought them in during darkness, and could not believe how the German shorthaired pointer had done it.
By following the path they’d taken in, Stig was able to show them the way home, despite a frustrating night spent on a ledge where none of them could lie down. Stig eventually went to sleep leaning against Mr Frame.
Mr Krehic and Stig have been working together for nearly seven years, and he was also a pet. It took three years to train Stig and he’s been operational for nearly four years, but Mr Douglas was their first find together. He said it was a special result and reward for their hard work.
“He is a lucky boy. I don’t think he realises how lucky he is,” Mr Krehic said.
Mr Krehic does. He said that before he joined SAR six years ago he was more likely to be the one being searched for. He once walked five hours out of the bush with a dislocated shoulder.
Mr Krehic said much of the praise for the successful search lay with search management, including operations manager Don Geddes. He said Mr Geddes told searchers to only use their whistles, not their voices in the field. So when they heard someone yelling, they knew it was Mr Douglas. That meant he was found sooner than he may have otherwise been.
Erin Bishop
Deputy chief reporter
