Northumberland mountain rescue teams involved in two missing person searches

Volunteers from Northumberland Mountain Park Rescue Team and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team were called out on Friday afternoon to assist Northumbria Police in their search for a male missing from Haltwhistle.

“We received a request from Northumbria Police to help search for a high risk missing person in the Haltwhistle area.” Keith Briggs, team leader for North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team. “The police were very concerned about his welfare and needed our support to search a potentially large area.”

As team members were deploying to begin their search, the man was found by the police as he was walking back towards Haltwhistle.

In the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday, the teams were again activated by Northumbria Police, this time to search for a missing female near Kielder.

“Given the limited information about the whereabouts of this person, we initially deployed only our team vehicles,” said team leader for Northumberland Mountain Rescue Team, Iain Nixon.

“The call came in at 3.15am and we had vehicles crewed and heading towards Stannersburn. With the support of the National Police Air Service Helicopter, one of our vehicles located the female walking on her own along a forest track at 5.15am. She was cold but very pleased to see us.”

With wintry conditions set to return to Northumberland National Park and our region, both teams are keen to remind hill-goers to have appropriate equipment and experience when venturing out onto the local hills.

Iain said: “Whilst most walkers use their mobile phone for taking pictures or sending a message, it’s important that you always have enough charge to communicate with the emergency services.

"In addition to this, if you have an accident, think about how long you’ll have to wait before Mountain Rescue will get to you; do you have enough clothing to keep warm?”

For more information about the #beadventure smart campaign, please visit www.adventuresmart.uk.

The British Mountaineering Council also has some useful information for those heading to a climbing crag for the first time this year, see www.thebmc.co.uk/first-climb-think-twice-outdoor-climbing.

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