32-hour hunt results in successful location of vulnerable Burlington man

In early September, the Halton Regional Police Service responded to a report of a missing vulnerable person in Burlington who had last been seen during the early morning hours.

“Given the urgent need to locate the individual, police deployed a number of front-line officers and specialized units to the call, including its Search Incident Response Team,” said a Halton police spokesperson.

SIRT is comprised of more than 130 members who are highly-trained in ground search techniques. These members can be quickly added to searches for missing and vulnerable people throughout Halton, any time of the day.

The HRPS’ SIRT supports dozens of searches within the Halton Region’s 1,000 sq.-km. of terrain annually. The team is called upon when a missing person’s last known location is relatively certain and they are on foot. Their search strategy is guided by data collected from more than 150,000 historical missing persons cases.

“In this incident, a dozen members of SIRT were deployed and used GPS technology to track the movements of HRPS officers to ensure all accessible locations were examined. K9 officers and drone technology were also employed to assist in the search.”

Members of the HRPS’ Marine Unit combed waterways and shorelines, while investigative units canvassed residents for assistance and access to CCTV footage in an effort to track the missing person’s movements.

Media and social media were also leveraged to raise awareness of the search across the region and beyond.

Search efforts continued throughout the night and into the morning hours with new teams of SIRT members and investigators following up on information obtained through earlier efforts. As the investigation progressed, this information, coupled with CCTV footage collected, enabled the SIRT to concentrate their efforts in a wooded area of Burlington.

On account of their work, the individual was safely located by SIRT members in the identified area, late the following afternoon – a full 32-hours after they had been reported missing. The person was subsequently reunited with family after being fully assessed by emergency medical services personnel.

“Since our inception in 1974, our Service has been committed to the safety and well-being of Halton residents. This includes ensuring we are equipped to rapidly and effectively respond to cases of missing vulnerable people throughout our region,” said Sgt. Rick Dodds.

“In this regard, our SIRT is a vital resource, not only in this recent case, but in the dozens of others they are deployed to support each year.”

A person can be reported missing at any time – there is no 24-hour waiting period. If you are concerned for someone’s immediate safety, call 9-1-1. Otherwise, you can report a person as missing to the Halton Regional Police Service by calling the non-emergency number 905-825-4777.

More information including resources, ways to assist and how to report a missing person can be found here.