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It all began in the summer of 1990 when a 13 year old boy went missing. The boy's two cousins and their friend helped search for him on horseback after he'd been missing for three days. With his tragic death, the idea of an organized mounted search team was born.
After listening to this heart-breaking story at the meeting of the Warren County Chapter of the Ohio Horseman's Council (OHC). One of the OHC members contacted the Warren County Sheriff's Dept., and spoke with Deputy Col. Dunn, who said that there had been a mounted sheriff's posse at one time, but it had been discontinued due to lack of county funds. He agreed there was a need for a mounted search team in the area, and that, with appropriate training, a team of volunteers using their own horses and equipment coud be useful. The Warren County OHC decided to sponsor the team.
The president of the Warren County OHC wrote an open letter to area horsemen, asking for volunteers for a mounted search team in Warren County. There was a large response. The first meeting was held in conjunction with the regular monthly business meeting of the Warren County OHC on January 10, 1991.
The new OHC Mounted Search Committee met the following June to plan the first training session. That training occurred August 16, 17 & 18, 1991 at Caesar Creek Horseman's Campground, and was conducted by Deputy George Rogers and other members of the Medina County Sheriff's Mounted Unit. They presented classroom and field instruction on search techniques and equipment.
During the search simulation training, participants were heard talking on their ham radios by the Warren County Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) radio officer. He suggested that Frank Young, director of Warren County Communications, would be interested in knowing about the search team. Members of the search team met with the Warren County Emergency Management Agency (EMA, now know as Warren County Dept. of Emergency Services (DES)). Affiliation with EMA allows the team to use the meeting facilities at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Lebanon, OH, and allows requests for search assistance to be directed through the agency.
The first regular monthly business meeting of the "Warren County Mounted Search Team" was held on January 16, 1992, at the EOC in Lebanon, with a presentation by Detective Rick Thacker on Evidence Protection. Six subcommttees were established, to coordinate the following aspects of the search team: Communications, Equipment, Finance, Ground Support, Procedures, and Training. The Policy and Procedures Manual was written by several members of the Search Team, each contributing sections which were then approved by the membership. Revisions are made as needed.
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