About Us

Many people don’t even know that we exist. Find out more about who we are and how we work.

Who we are

Warwickshire Search and Rescue is one of more than 30 Lowland Rescue teams across the UK. Along with the other Lowland teams, we are part of the UK Search and Rescue framework together with organisations such as Mountain Rescue and the RNLI.

The team is made up of over 80 volunteers, so all donations go to the good cause—no salaries or expenses are paid to members. The team is based at Stoneleigh Park near Kenilworth. Our geographical reach covers Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull, and the eastern side of Birmingham.

Our purpose is to search for high-risk missing people. In a lowland setting, this is predominantly people living with dementia who have moved outside their normal safety net and those with severe mental health issues. People with suicidal intentions are our biggest category.

We are only tasked by the emergency services; we are not called out by the general public. All members are police vetted and highly trained in areas including search skills, navigation and first aid. We see ourselves as professional in all but pay.

Our default method of search is on foot, but we also search in water, from boats, from the air using drones, and with highly trained search dog and handler teams. In 2023 we became the first Lowland Rescue team to receive the King’s Award for Voluntary Service.

Despite providing an essential service, we receive no regular funding from government or the emergency services. Fundraising support from the community is therefore very highly appreciated.

Search and Rescue

Our highly trained volunteers search for vulnerable missing people in four principal ways.

Land Search

Searching on foot is our most common method of search. We tend to work in teams of four or five, with a team leader, navigator, medic and radio operator.

Drone Search

Several team members hold the General VLOS Certificate, allowing us to fly our thermal-imaging drone by day or night to search for missing people.

Dog Search

Our team has one of the very few scent-tracking dog and handler teams in UK Lowland Rescue. The dog takes the missing person’s scent from an article such as a T-shirt and follows the scent trail they have left.

Water Search

Water team members undertake significant additional training and use specialist equipment, including dry suits, so they can work safely in the water and from boats.

Our Team

All members of our team are unpaid volunteers from all life stages and backgrounds. They share a desire to help their community, work as a team and get outdoors. We are always on call to mobilise and search for a vulnerable missing person, whatever the weather or time of day or night.

Primary Team Roles

Licensed Search Technician

Every operational member trains and qualifies as a Licensed Search Technician. This usually takes 9–12 months. Training covers search skills, navigation, first aid, radio communication and crime-scene awareness. Once qualified, technicians deploy in small search teams when called out.

Team Leader

Experienced Licensed Search Technicians may be put forward to train as Team Leaders. A Team Leader allocates roles, briefs and debriefs the team, and provides leadership and decision-making throughout a tasking.

Search Planner

Search Planners are usually based in the control vehicle. They use police intelligence and information about the missing person to identify priority areas and develop the search plan.

Search Operations

Search Operations organise the people, communications and equipment needed to deliver the search plan. They allocate members to teams, brief and debrief leaders, maintain radio contact and coordinate supporting resources.

Support Member

Support Members help in many ways, from fundraising events and acting as missing people during exercises to driving vehicles, running welfare facilities, organising events and supporting social media.

Team Specialisms

Once qualified as a Licensed Search Technician, there are further skills we develop to improve our search capabilities, including:

Bank search (qualified and equipped to search at the water’s edge)
Kayak search
Swiftwater Rescue Technician (further qualified to be able to work in flowing, unpredictable water such as flooding)
Drone pilot
Search dog handler

Our Patron

We are extremely proud to have Tim Cox, Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, as Patron of Warwickshire Search and Rescue.

𝗧𝗶𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝘅, 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱:

“I am delighted to be Patron of Warwickshire Search and Rescue. The dedication and professionalism of its volunteers, and the vital support they provide to the emergency services, make a real difference to people at their moments of greatest need. I am proud to support an organisation that embodies public service, teamwork and community spirit across Warwickshire.”

Supporting the Emergency Services

We are only ever tasked by the emergency services, normally the police, or by the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Resilience Forum in the event of a major public emergency.

We can also be called out by neighbouring Search and Rescue teams when they need additional resources, and they provide the same support to us.

If someone you know is missing, dial 999 and ask for the police; if someone is in difficulty in inland water, ask for the fire service.