TWENTY volunteers scoured an abandoned hospital for a missing mother and her daughter.
Crews from Essex Search & Rescue and teams from Search Dogs Essex combed the four-and-a-half acre St John's site for six hours, looking for the family.
Fortunately this was just a training exercise and the pair, two dummies, one with a football for a head, were found safe and well at the disused hospital on Wood Street, Chelmsford, on Sunday.
"We teach our guys to be thorough. They had to sweep the entire site," said chairman of Essex Search & Rescue Matt Cloke, a 40-year-old chartered surveyor of Chelmsford, who has been a volunteer with the organisation for eight years.
Essex Search & Rescue is celebrating its tenth birthday and is on the lookout for volunteers to help them find some of the county's most vulnerable people.
They are called out once every ten days to scour the countryside and towns for missing residents – usually Alzheimer's and dementia sufferers, the elderly, or the suicidal.
The search can last anything from a minute to five days.
They have 40 rescuers on their books, but due to members' work commitments, they are always on the look-out for new people.
"We're all volunteers and the group survives entirely on charitable donations," said Matt.
At the moment they are raising money to buy a new van to carry their equipment.
The volunteers come from all backgrounds, with ages from 18 to 70.
Ian Whitemoss, 65, of Great Waltham, has been a rescuer for three years.
"It is very rewarding at times, but sometimes you don't find what you're looking for. That's the nature of the beast, but it's amazing when you do find the person who's gone missing, alive and well."
And Matt says you don't have to be a paramedic or ex-serviceman to join.
"We give people all the training that's necessary and we don't have any big prerequisites," he said.
"It's good to be fit, but we're not looking for Olympic athletes – just people with a bit of time and who want to put something back into the community.
"We need people because we are getting busier and busier.
"Essex Police appreciate what we do and can rely on us to do a good job."
Ian Wright, 48, of Colchester, who works in trading standards, joined the team this weekend for the first time.
He said: "I think it's a worthwhile cause and if we can help find people who are vulnerable and have gone missing, then we can do a lot of good."
Jim Turner, 39, a health and safety manager of Latchingdon, has been a volunteer for two years.
"I wanted to get out in the countryside and give something back. "These two years have been fantastic and it can be really rewarding when you find someone alive and well."
That is not always the case, but Matt said that they offer their volunteers counselling if they find a dead person.
"It can be quite harrowing, but our teams are trained in body recovery and we call in professional counsellors if it's needed."
Essex Search & Rescue has a partnership with Search Dogs Essex – a team of volunteers who have trained their dogs to sniff out missing people.
"It's a game for the dogs," said 39-year-old Mark Osborn, of Mayland, who searches with his two springer spaniels Charlie and Dave.
"They don't care about the people, they just want to find them as quickly as possible so they get a treat."
Mark Gilpin, planning director of Inland Homes, which owns the site, said: "We are more than happy to support Essex Search & Rescue by letting them use the former hospital as a test site.
"The work they do is vital and often goes under the radar, so we hope this exercise will encourage people to get involved with the charity, while also making sure the group is ready to go the next time they are needed."