OSRT Team Conducts Successful Search in Mansfield

On Friday, 15 September, 2023 members of the Ohio Special Response Team - Search and Rescue - played a pivital role in the search for a missing Mansfield man. Jeffery went missing somewhere between 0130 and 0430 on Friday morning. His cane, cell phone, hat, and flashlight were found on the edge of a nearby woods. Throughout the day, searchers had no luck finding him, despite the use of K-9s.

The OSRT search team was called in at around 1800 to lend assistance. The team utilized an analysis of Jeffery based on the International Lost Person Database and identified two primary areas in which to focus the search. The first area included a 60 meter circle around his abandoned possessions. The second, a stream approximately 1/4 mile away. Both areas were composed of dense wooded terrain.

Approximately 46 minutes from beginning the focused search, the OSRT team located Jeffery 1/4 mile inside the woods alongside the targeted stream. He was alive, though suffering from hypothermia. OSRT personnel wrapped Jeffery in a thermal blanket, give him fluids, and kept him comfortable until local fire/rescue personnel could arrive and assist in carrying him out.

We'd like to thank the Richland County Sheriff and area fire service personnel for including us in the search and for stepping up to extract Jeffery safely. This is the kind of cooperative effort that can make an enormous difference in addressing a lost person incident throughout the state.

OSRT personnel assist in transferring Jeffery from the extraction litter to the squad bed. Members shown: Jeremy Artzner, Denise Kroger, and Chase Slepak.