Mechanicsville Quarry

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Admin
Mechanicsville Quarry

Mechanicsville Quarry


Staff photo by SUSAN CRATON
In back, Alex Norman with his dog, Jack, and Bob Nixon with Jeb, and, in front, Maria Norman with Jill and Kelly Burkhardt with Captain, members of the Tri-County Working Dogs who assisted with the search in Hanover, Va., for 8-year-old Robert Woods Jr. last month, gather during a break from the groups weekly training session, held earlier this month at the Fifth District Park.

Staff photo by SUSAN CRATON
In back, Alex Norman with his dog, Jack, and Bob Nixon with Jeb, and, in front, Maria Norman with Jill and Kelly Burkhardt with Captain, members of the Tri-County Working Dogs who assisted with the search in Hanover, Va., for 8-year-old Robert Woods Jr. last month, gather during a break from the groups weekly training session, held earlier this month at the Fifth District Park.



The group of fellow German shepherd enthusiasts were regularly getting together to train their dogs … mostly just because it was fun.

The dogs liked it.

The seven friends liked it.

And everyone agreed that it was good for their German shepherds, a breed known for its intelligence and drive to work. They started training together as they went through classes at Applejack K-9 Academy and Kennel in Charlotte Hall six years ago, and they just kept at it afterward.

They have to be trained, said Joe Brown of Mechanicsville, the member of the group who normally leads the training exercises when the friends get together for their weekly, hours-long sessions. They are working dogs. They want to work.

And theyre so intelligent, said Alex Norman, a member from Prince Georges County. My dog hasnt stopped learning yet. He thinks its fun. I think its fun. So, why not?

They started calling the group Tri-County Working Dogs. They meet weekly at places like the Fifth District Park behind Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary School in Mechanicsville and Gilbert Run Park in Charles County to put their dogs through their paces and work on any behavior problems that arose during the week.

And then, last month, they had a chance to put all that training to use in a special way.

Kelly Burkhardt of Hollywood, another member of Tri-County Working Dogs, heard about the search to locate a young boy with autism who had been reported missing on Oct. 23 while hiking with family members in Virginia.

She contacted Bob Nixon of Mechanicsville, another member. You want to do this? she said she asked him. In addition to training their German shepherds in obedience, personal protection, and drug and explosive detection, the group also works on search and rescue skills.

We do a lot of scenarios that are similar, Burkhardt said, to the search for the Virginia boy.

Ultimately, four members of the group, Burkhardt, Nixon and Alex and Maria Norman of Prince Georges County, cleared their schedules and travel with their dogs (Captain, Jeb, Jack and Jill) to the search site, near the North Anna Battlefield Park in Hanover, Va., just north of Richmond.

It was Oct. 27, and the boy, Robert Woods Jr., 8, had already been missing since Oct. 23.

Search organizers were turning away volunteers because so many people had responded. But, when they questioned the group from Southern Maryland and found out their dogs were trained, they put them to work, Burkhardt said.

Organizers had worked out a grid pattern for the search and assigned the dog owners to work together on about 35 acres of a quarry near the park.

The search was difficult for a variety of reasons. They were told that if the boy saw them or heard them, he was likely to run away, so the search had to be done quietly. They knew he was a runner, Burkhardt said. The boy wouldnt respond to his name being called. And he rarely spoke.

Not only that, but there was no scent given to the group for the dogs to work from. We were searching, not tracking, Burkhardt said. But the dogs still indicate to their owners when there is a scent that interests them, that is out of the ordinary, she explained.

They were told they would be searching in an area where there were coyotes and lots of snakes, Burkhardt said.

Brutal, brutal terrain, Nixon said.

There were times when I had to get on my stomach to get through tight areas, Burkhardt said.

They each were accompanied in the search by a member of the Hanover County SWAT team and by a quarry employee.

After that first day of searching, when the team walked for four to five hours, there was no sign of the boy. The team was invited to come back Oct. 28 to continue the search. We were thrilled when they asked us to come back a second day, Burkhardt said.

The boy was found about 2 p.m. that second day. The boy was discovered by another volunteer, one without a dog, in an area not far from the Southern Maryland group, but outside of its designated grid area. The police officer got call on his walkie-talkie about the find and he and the quarry member just left the Tri-County Working Dogs members where they stood. That was it. The search was over.

He was in an area we were heading toward, Nixon said. Robert Woods Jr. had been missing for five nights and six days.

The days leading up to [the boys] rescue developed into an unprecendented and coordinated public safety response, said Col. David R. Hines, sheriff of Hanover County, in a statement issued by his department. The unique quality of the strategy was the utilization of thousands of citizens in the search effort. Their deployment into search grids allowed a wider area to be covered in a relatively brief period of time.

We were just so excited to do it, Burkhardt said. Tri-County Working Dogs hopes to apply their animals training to more and more real-life situations, she added. The team is looking into certification with the National Association of Search and Rescue organization.

Until then, the group plans to keep meeting and training. Right now, the group is not open to new members, but that may change in the future, Burkhardt said. Information on the group, along with photos from the Hanover, Va., search are on the groups website, www.tcworkingdogs.com.

The group plans to donate a puppy from a recent litter of one of their dogs to someone local who has autism. If [Robert Wood Jr.] would have had a dog, they wouldnt have had to search, Brown said.

scraton@somdnews.com

Article source: http://www.somdnews.com/article/20111118/UNKNOWN/711189743/1059/southern-maryland-dog-training-group-assists-in-search-for-missing&template=southernMaryland

By Jim Fields
jfields@mechlocal.com

When 8-year-old Robert Wood Jr. was rescued on Friday, he was fully clothed, with the exception of his shoes, which were located nearby. He was lying in a damp creek bed. These details are among additional information released Saturday night by Capt. Michael J. Trice of the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office.

The boy had been missing since Sunday, Oct. 23. He was last seen at the end of a trail at the North Anna Battlefield Park. He was found about three-quarters of a mile from that site.

According to Trice, the man who found him was not part of an organized search, but, like many that did assist in the search, he said he felt compelled to do what he could. 

After getting permission from a resident on Verdon Road,  the man started to search the woods on the west side of a rock quarry owned by Martin Marietta.

When he discovered Robert, he put a stocking cap on the boy’s head, gloves on his hands, wrapped him in a coat, gave him water to drink, and then called 911.

“I have spoken at length with the gentlemen that found Robert,” Trice said on Saturday. He told the captain he did not want his name to be released. 

The man did offer the following statement:

“I was guided by the Holy Spirit, to take any recognition for finding Robert would take credit away from God.”

Friday evening, Robert’s parents, Barbara Locker and Robert Wood Sr., offered their thanks to those involved in bringing their son home safely. Trice shared the comments obtained by Ann Buckley, the public information officer at VCU Medical Center. Upon his discovery, the boy was taken to the Richmond hospital.

“He is here and safe,” Robert’s mother said. “Thank you for your prayers, your thoughts. Thank you for searching. He is a strong little fella. At this time, my family thanks you for respecting our privacy.”

“On behalf of the family of Robbie Wood, I would like to extend our greatest gratitude to all who have had us in your thoughts and prayers, to all volunteers who have donated, time, effort, and other valuable resources, and, finally to our local, state , and federal, law enforcement, fire and rescue.” his father added.

“The support we have received is overwhelming, and we wish we name everyone the list is just too great, but please know we know who you are!  I would like to thank the news media for its continued coverage,  As well as its respect for our privacy,” Wood Sr. said.

“Robert is a very strong and determined little boy. We never gave up hope that he would return home safe,” he continued. “The family has been here every hour and been involved in the search 200 percent. Thank you so much everybody . . .  Robert Is home!”

At a news conference to announce that the boy had been found, Col. David R. Hines, Hanover County sheriff, said it was a group of the more than 6,000 volunteers that had joined the search since Tuesday, Oct. 25, who found Robert.

The area where he was found had been searched before, and it isn’t certain how long Robert had been there.

“I’m confident that in searching the area before that we didn’t walk past him,” Hines said. “We had been told by some of the experts advising us that we might find him lying in a fetal position, and I believe that was the case.”

Caroline County Sheriff Tony Lippa was one of the first authorities to confirm that Robert had been found.

“He is in good condition,” Lippa said.

Lippa said Robert was being flown by helicopter to VCU Medical Center for an examination and treatment of any injuries.

An initial report from the hospital verified that he was there and being evaluated. He was described as being in good condition.

The search has been aided by helicopters, trained dogs and water search and rescue teams who continue to work up and down the North Anna River.

Dominion Virginia Power has restricted the flow of water into the river, reducing the depth in some place to inches and feet, allowing dive teams to walk the river in many places.

Robert was visiting the park Sunday with his father, brother and father’s girlfriend when he walked away.

The call for help was received at 2:45 p.m.

“The search for Robert is over,” Hines said, “but the investigation into the incident continues.”

“We still believe he’s alive and will keep looking for Robert until we find him,” Trice said over and over again as the six-day search seemed to have no end in sight.

Today, all of the wishes and prayers to find him alive were answered.

Melody Kinser contributed to this report.

Related stories from The Mechanicsville Local
Volunteers asked to gather at Meadow Event Park
Search for Robert continues
Update on the search for Robbie Wood Jr.

Related stories from the Richmond Times-Dispatch
UPDATE: Robert Wood Jr. found alive in Hanover
UPDATE: 1,500 show up to help search for lost autistic boy
UPDATE: Hundreds answer call to help search for missing autistic boy

Related links
Hanover County Sheriff on Facebook
Let’s Find Robert Wood Facebook page