Missing: The team of expert Northamptonshire volunteers on call 24/7 to track down your loved-one

This year has been the busiest ever for the county's search and rescue team
The team works across the whole of NorthamptonshireThe team works across the whole of Northamptonshire
The team works across the whole of Northamptonshire

Hundreds of people go missing in Northamptonshire every year, and some are trickier to track down than others.

When police resources are stretched, when the situation is urgent or when there is a big area to search, cops call on the expert volunteers at Northamptonshire Search and Rescue.

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The 43-strong team from across the county are highly-trained and have years of experience in finding people who have gone missing in our county.

The team is highly trained in lowland search and rescueThe team is highly trained in lowland search and rescue
The team is highly trained in lowland search and rescue

And 2020 has been the busiest ever year in the group's eight year history - this week they attended their sixty first missing persons call-out since the start of the year. They've also completed 42 Covid support calls, clocking up a total of 3,143 volunteer hours.

In 2019 they had a total of 51 call-outs.

Search manager Neil Balderson said: "Covid has really stretched us. There have been a few people who have gone missing because they were terrified of catching Covid, not just in our county but in other counties too. They are literally hiding from Covid.

"And of course when you find them, they're scared of you because they think you might give them Covid.

It's hoped there will be three search dogs by the end of this yearIt's hoped there will be three search dogs by the end of this year
It's hoped there will be three search dogs by the end of this year
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"Covid has clearly had an impact on people's mental health and that's a major reason for people going missing.

"It might be that people's businesses are struggling or they've lost their job, or that they're in an abusive relationship that they have found it impossible to get out of because of lockdown.

"Lots of our procedures have changed. We'd only do CPR now if we have bags and masks with us - otherwise it's just chest compressions. We have to protect our volunteers.

"Then we have to wear PPE which can be interesting in the middle of a forest in the pouring rain. There's also a cost attached to that.

Volunteers are on hand every day of the year to help police search for missing peopleVolunteers are on hand every day of the year to help police search for missing people
Volunteers are on hand every day of the year to help police search for missing people
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"We've had members in the resilience forum's co-ordination centre helping to make sure medicine and supplies are delivered efficiently. We've also had call-outs to go to vulnerable people's houses to make sure that they're OK if they haven't been seen for a few days.

Covid has also hit the group's funding, which comes solely from donations. Fundraising is down 60 per cent on last year and the charity has had to dig into its reserves to provide the £15,000 it needs annually to keep going. The planned purchase of a drone to help with searches has also had to be put on ice.

And yet the number of calls keeps on growing.

"We've built up a really good relationship with the police," said Neil.

Covid has resulted in the team's busiest ever yearCovid has resulted in the team's busiest ever year
Covid has resulted in the team's busiest ever year

"They trust us implicitly because we're quite good at finding people.

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"We find there are three reasons why the majority of people go missing: deteriorating mental health, children - mostly teenagers - who run away and elderly people who may have dementia who wander off."

The volunteers use sophisticated statistical analysis to predict where someone might be and what they will do when they go missing.

"We need to know a rough start-point, the place where they were last seen or known to be, and we work from there.

"We know someone with dementia can travel about two miles an hour.

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"Over the summer an elderly person went missing from Northampton and we found them two days later near Woollaston. They'd travelled ten miles. They had a bit of sunburn and they were very dehydrated but they survived.

The group has carried out 61 search and rescue operations this yearThe group has carried out 61 search and rescue operations this year
The group has carried out 61 search and rescue operations this year

"Out of the 60 we've searched for this year, 95 per cent have been found alive. There's always hope."

Neil also said that they support that volunteers get from their partners and families is invaluable.

"Our partners are very much a part of our team," he said.

"They look after the kids and keep things running while we're out searching for people and then they provide us with emotional support afterwards."

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The group recruits volunteers each year. The only requirement is that members must be physically fit enough to walk five miles in two hours.

It already has one search dog on board with another two undertaking training.

"Covid has been a bit of a sod. It's been hard work," said Neil. "But we're here 365 days a year, 24/7. If somebody needs us, we'll be there."

You can donate to the Northants Search and Rescue Team here. The group is also looking for locations for clothing collection bins. You can find out more on their website.