Maryport Rescue have become the first lowland rescue team in Cumbria.
The volunteer team – who run a dedicated independent lifeboat service, onshore search support and swift water and flood rescue team – earned the prestigious title after a weekend of training and assessment at the end of April.
Becoming a lowland team means Maryport Rescue are now working at the nationally accredited standard for missing person search.
The standard is set by The Association of Lowland Search & Rescue, the governing body for the UK’s lowland rescue teams.
It means the team can be confidently depended on by Cumbria Police to assist with missing person incidents at a high technical level.
Lowland rescue teams assist emergency services in finding missing people primarily in non-mountainous areas, including in urban, rural, and woodland areas and any lowland terrain between mountains and the sea.
Maryport Rescue have been trained and assessed by the association’s national training team.
Mike Messenger, director-operations manager at Maryport Rescue, said: “This marks a significant milestone for our volunteers. We are very proud to have become the first lowland team in Cumbria following assessment from national teams.
“We have been responding to missing person call outs for many years, so it was a natural progression.
“It’s a remarkable achievement because at the end of the day, all our team members have full time jobs and we have to thank our employers who let us away at the drop of a hat.
“We really are very proud of what we’ve achieved in our community and we are so grateful to everyone who supports us and helps fund us. Without support from the public and grants we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.”
Lowland rescue teams are trained to have search management capabilities that are amongst some of the best in the world.
Teams are trained in a variety of searching techniques including Police line-searching and are able to use specific patterns of visual search as well as their full senses to maximise the chances of finding a missing person as quickly as possible.
Becoming a lowland team also gives them access to data and research from around the world and top mapping systems from Ordnance Survey.
Mike added: “The police can be assured they are getting the best possible support to find a missing person
“Because we are working to a national standard, it gives anyone in need of assistance the best possible chance of being found.
“There are different things to consider in each search, every type of missing person has different behaviours and patterns to follow, it’s not just walking and looking around, there’s a lot of methodology within it.”
Maryport Rescue is now one of 40 lowland rescue teams that operate across the UK.
The Association of Lowland Search & Rescue is made up of trustees elected from its member teams, and operational officers who develop standards and governance.
Officers are appointed from both member teams and outside agencies, and are made up of experts in pre-hospital medical care, search, flood response and safety.
The association is also a member of the UK Government’s UKSAR Operator’s Group – the official group which governs all of the UK’s onshore and offshore search and rescue operations.
Sean McCarry, chair of The Association of Lowland Search & Rescue, said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to the team, we are very impressed with Maryport Rescue.
“They have been nothing but professional throughout the whole process and we are very sure we have made the right decision by bringing Maryport on board as another team.
“There are 40 teams across the UK and Maryport is now one of those teams and part of that network with great connections and national recognition.
“It’s a very detailed and long, drawn out process, but they’ve stuck with it and they’re now in the hold and we look forward to working with them long into the future.
“It’s a great achievement for the team and great for Cumbria as well.”
