Lost in the Woods? Southern Star Search and Rescue Teaches Kids to ‘Stay Put’ at Historic Blakeley State Park

SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Children who get lost in the woods should stop walking, stay where they are and wait for searchers to come to them. Volunteers with Southern Star Search and Rescue taught that rule and other basic survival skills to Baldwin County parents and children at Historic Blakeley State Park on Saturday.

The Foley-based nonprofit’s presentation was aimed especially at children younger than 10. If one of them gets lost in a wooded area, what they do in the first hours can make the difference between being found quickly and facing real danger. The volunteers walked families through what to do and what not to do, so that K-9 teams, law enforcement and other searchers can find a missing child as fast as possible.

‘Stay put’

Ray Mooney of Southern Star Search and Rescue said the most important lesson is simple: once a child realizes they are lost, they should stop moving.

“Number one, don’t wander around. Once you know you’re lost, stay put. Stay in place, search teams or officers, law enforcement, members or search K-9s will come and find you,” Mooney said.

Search and rescue teams teach this rule because a child who keeps walking can end up farther from where searchers start, and may move into thicker woods, water or rough ground. A child who stays in one place is easier to find, especially once trained dogs are on the trail.

The group said its K-9s are trained to follow human scent. When a child stays in one spot, the scent trail leads to them instead of wandering in loops that are harder for a dog and its handler to follow.

A lesson with a long history

The “stay put” message has been used in children’s outdoor safety training for decades. One of the best-known programs, Hug-a-Tree and Survive, came out of a 1981 search in southern California for 9-year-old Jimmy Beveridge, who went missing during a family camping trip. According to the AdventureSmart program, which now promotes Hug-a-Tree, the five-day search involved park rangers, the local sheriff’s department and about 400 searchers, including 200 Marines.

The Hug-a-Tree program teaches children ages 5 to 12 four key rules:

• Tell an adult where you are going.
• If you are lost, “hug a tree” and stay put.
• Keep warm and dry.
• Help searchers find you by answering their calls.

Hugging a tree gives a scared child something to do. It keeps the child in one place and offers some shelter from the weather. AdventureSmart says many agencies have reported fewer searches for lost children in areas where the program is taught.

The same idea runs through what Southern Star taught at Blakeley. Children who know what to expect, including the fact that strangers in uniforms and dogs may be coming to look for them, are better prepared to stay calm, stay in place and answer when someone calls their name.

Who Southern Star Search and Rescue is

Southern Star Search and Rescue is an all-volunteer nonprofit based in Foley. It was established on Aug. 1, 2022. When the group marked its first anniversary in 2023, its treasurer, Sam Strite, said it does not charge for its services and is available to assist law enforcement 24 hours a day. The group said at the time that it was the only team in the Alabama Association of Rescue Squads south of Montgomery with nationally certified K-9s and handlers, and that it had 10 nationally certified dogs.

To earn national certification, a dog is tested by a qualified evaluator. Strite said in 2023 that because the dogs are trained to respond only to human scent, testers sometimes hide animal parts along the trail to see whether the dog gets distracted. The dog’s focus and how long it takes to reach the hidden person both count toward whether it passes.

The team trains every week. Its dogs wear GPS collars so search commanders can track where they go, and they train in urban, rural and water settings. In its first year, the group said, its members took part in more than 10 land and water searches. They helped the Daphne Police Department and Daphne Search and Rescue find a missing 73-year-old man, and helped the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office present its “Shining Star” summer program at area elementary schools.

Blakeley’s role in local searches

Historic Blakeley State Park works with several local search and rescue organizations. Those groups provide trained search personnel and search K-9s to law enforcement, fire and rescue squads and other agencies looking for missing people.

The park was a natural place for the lesson. Historic Blakeley covers more than 2,100 acres in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, some of the most biologically diverse land in North America, with miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Families come to hike, bike, ride horses, camp and explore Civil War earthworks. The park preserves the site of the Battle of Fort Blakeley, fought April 9, 1865, the same day Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox. With about 20,000 men involved, it was the largest Civil War battle fought in Alabama. The grounds also hold the remains of the early town of Blakeley, chartered in 1814 and once a commercial rival to Mobile.

Wooded parks like Blakeley are wonderful for families, and they are also places where a curious child can quickly lose sight of a parent on a trail.

What parents can do

Search and rescue volunteers say preparation starts at home, long before a family heads to a trail. Based on the guidance shared at Blakeley and in programs like Hug-a-Tree, parents can:

• Teach children to stop and stay in one place as soon as they realize they are lost.
• Remind children to tell an adult before they wander off, even for a short distance.
• Explain that searchers, officers and dogs will come looking, and that answering when someone calls their name is the right thing to do.
• Talk about keeping warm and dry while they wait.
• Practice these steps in a calm, matter-of-fact way so children remember them without becoming frightened.

If a child does go missing, call 911 right away. The sooner law enforcement is notified, the sooner trained search teams and K-9s can be brought in, and the fresher the scent trail will be for the dogs.

Families who want to learn more about Southern Star Search and Rescue, or ask about a presentation for a school, youth or community group, can reach the volunteer team through its social media pages.