ATSAR Featured in Hall County Magazine

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:33:59 +0000

Click the thumbnail below to read the full article

Alpha Team speaks at the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society Meeting

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:21:41 +0000

Members of the Alpha Team K9 Search and Rescue (ATSAR) team spoke about their work at the April GARS meeting. Net manager Joel Barrett, W4JOL – who also works with ATSAR – invited the team to demonstrate its K9 capabilities.

Pictured above are ATSAR members Cheryl Knieriemen, KI4SWA, document unit leader; Paul Ruszczyk, KI4ADT, team treasurer; Barney, K9, search and rescue dog; Paula Chambers, KI4LGR, team president; Stuart Samples, KG4PFQ, training coordinator; and Susie Braswell, K9SPB Public Liaison.

Braswell, also a Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) member, presented slides of her work with DMAT in Haiti following the January earthquake. “The room was very quiet during her presentation,” said Sandy Jackson, KJ4DRO, program manager. “Seeing the pictures does take your breath away.”

ATSAR members discussed the different types of K9s and their abilities, ATSAR and the challenges the team faces, typical search-and-rescue and communications equipment carried in the field, and some of ATSAR’s callouts. GARS members had lots of questions, and conversations extended out into St. Marguerite’s parking lot long after the meeting ended.

Click the thumbnail below to read the article written in the GARS newsletter about our visit.

“Reprinted with permission from the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society (www.gars.org).”

Special Search Dog Works His Magic, Finds Missing Woman – 11Alive.com | WXIA | Atlanta, GA

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:26:27 +0000

Click the thumbnail below to read the full article

** There is also a video about this search on the article page **

Missing Alzheimer’s victim rescued

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:32:55 +0000

October 30, 2009-Missing Alzheimer’s victim rescued, article links below:

11alive.Com

Douglas County flood victim Hooper recovered

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:30:21 +0000

September 28, 2009-Douglas County flood victim Hooper recovered, article link below:

CNN.Com

UGA Professor George Zinkhan Located

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:27:44 +0000

May 9, 2009- UGA Professor George Zinkhan Located, article links below:

Examiner.Com

AJC.Com

Boortz.Com

Unearthing the Past

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:01:52 +0000

Our team is very versatile and we are called on to perform many different types of missions.

Here is one of the more unique ones…. helping detect old burial sites !

Below is a link to the original article from the Avondale Burial Place Project Website

http://www.newsouthassoc.com/avondale/Archaeology.h tml

Alpha Team Callout

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:25:23 +0000

Alpha Team K9 Search and Rescue, Inc., was formed to provide all of the skills and teamwork necessary to bring the best resources, K9’s and personnel to your Search and Rescue mission. We are a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization providing immediate call-out status to the Southeastern United States of America.

Alpha Team is an advanced response team with the capabilities and willingness to respond to all types of search and rescue emergencies. Our teams can provide incident command, navigational support, radio operations, ground searchers, and highly trained K9 search and rescue specialist teams for your urban, wilderness and water search operations. Our search team does not charge for it’s services, and will respond at no cost for all types of search emergencies.

Missing Alzheimers Patient Found!

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:21:22 +0000

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A south Fulton County Alzheimer’s patient spent Friday recovering at home after spending the night alone in the woods.

Search and rescue volunteers found 70-year-old Gloria Hood just before 4 a.m. after she’d been missing for nearly 12 hours.

Channel 2 Action News cameras captured crews taking Hood to the hospital after she spent the night in the woods.

“It’s been hectic. It’s been draining. It’s been terrifying,” said her son, Brian Hood.

Hood said his mother has never wandered off before. “She’s a sweetie,” he said.

Police said Hood left her Reynolds Road home about 6:15 p.m. Thursday. Her disappearance prompted an all night search from the air and on the ground.

Fulton County police called in volunteers from a group called Alpha Team K-9 Search and Rescue and within 20 minutes, a German Shepherd named Clue located her. For Hood’s family, her quick return brought quick relief.

Alpha Team K9 Search and Rescue joins with the National Alzheimer's Association

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:50:02 +0000

TEST Alpha Team K9 Search and Rescue joins with the National Alzheimer’s Association; GA Chapter, to increase awareness and to support fundraising efforts to end the disease.

Click here to learn more about the National Alzheimer’s Association!

Georgia law enforcement officers now have one more reason to learn about Alzheimer’s disease, the dangers of wandering and the Alzheimer’s Association’s Safe Return Program. As of this past October, officers will be able to receive continuing education credit for classes taught by chapter staff and certified volunteers. Safe Return Program directors and volunteers recently completed a special curriculum designed by Georgia Safe Return Coordinator Alice Hoffmann and approved by P.O.S.T., the Peace Officers Standards Training. P.O.S.T. is the continuing education credit that law enforcement officers are required to receive each year. “More law enforcement officers will be more willing to take this essential training now that they can receive credit for it,” Hoffmann said. “The law enforcement training is so crucial A total of 14 people attended the Safe Return training seminar to become certified instructors . They are: Alice Hoffmann (Atlanta regional office) , Laurie Parker (North Georgia regional office) , Tracy Ford (Macon regional office) , Nancy Goode (Albany regional office), Carrie Valentine (Augusta regional office), Jenny House (Savannah regional office), Paula Chambers (ATSAR) , Susie Braswell (ATSAR) , Kelli Jablonski (ATSAR) , Pam Nyberg (ATSAR), Kathy Simpson (Volunteer) , John Thames (Atlanta regional office) , Vice President of Chapter Services and Public Poli y Ginny Helms, Christina Semple (Atlanta regional office) and Sara h Carson (Atlanta regional office). Safe Return Earns New Badge of Honor today since there have been more cases of missing persons with Alzheimer’s disease. They will definitely find this training helpful in their day to day routines.” A day-long seminar and “Train the Trainer” session included several wellknown speakers. Stuart Samples, the President of ATSAR (Alpha Team Search and Rescue), presented information on search and rescue techniques and when to call for a K-9 search team. He also did a short demonstration on how search dogs and team members work in unison. Private investigator and retired FBI agent, Harold Copus, outlined search strategies and talked about what each office needs to have readily available in the event of a missing person. Alzheimer’s Association’s Safe Return Program™