Missing person searches are one of the most regular call-outs for Civil Defence Search and Rescue units across the Country. Each local authority unit provide trained volunteers to search responder level, these search teams cover land and water searches and rescue missions. This service provides a very valuable support to An Garda Siochana in the search for missing persons.
Civil Defence volunteers are trained centrally and locally in various search qualifications such as Search Managers, Search Instructors, Search Responders and Search Team Leaders. Civil Defence search teams train locally within their County of operation and also with other Counties within the regional response group.
The Civil Defence branch also provides extra resources to Search teams such as remotely piloted aircraft drones to assist search teams in covering vast areas of intrest, search dog handlers and trained search dogs for live and deceased detection along with boat teams and communications vehicles and tetra communications equipment and mapping software to assist in extended search responses.