Montana SAR volunteer killed in a snowmobile accident during training

Missoula, Montana — Press Release: Lincoln County Sheriff's Office

A Libby Search & Rescue volunteer [DTSAR Team Web site] was killed in a snowmobile accident Saturday morning southwest of Troy.

On Saturday, January 18, 2014, members of David Thompson Search and Rescue and CANAM Search and Rescue were taking part in a joint avalanche preparedness training exercise in the Bear Mountain area up Keeler Creek, about 12 miles southwest of Troy, Montana.  This joint training also involved members of search and rescue teams from Sanders County, Montana and Boundary County, Idaho, along with personnel from the U.S. Forest Service and other volunteer members of the community.

At about 9:50 AM, Troy Dispatch was advised of a snowmobile accident on the Keeler Creek road, with one male adult victim.  Medically trained personnel already at the scene of the accident requested an air ambulance response and began CPR on the patient.  The Alert Helicopter out of Kalispell was launched to respond.  Troy Volunteer Ambulance (TVA) and Advance Life Support (ALS) personnel responded to the scene from Troy.

Upon arrival at the trailhead parking area, an ALS member was transported up the drainage by snowmobile to meet the patient.  The patient, identified as Cameron Mitchell Goins, age 47, of Libby, was declared dead at 10:33 AM, shortly after ALS arrival.  The helicopter response was cancelled.

Sheriff Roby Bowe responded to the scene with Detective Nate Scofield.  U.S. Forest Service investigators also responded.

The accident investigation revealed that Goins, along with a group of other snowmobilers, was riding his snowmobile alone up the Keeler Creek drainage toward the avalanche training area when, for an unknown reason, Goins drifted off the maintained snowmobile trail and struck a tree with his body.  Goins was wearing a helmet.

Goins had been a member of David Thompson Search and Rescue for two years.  He was an active member of the Snowmobile Unit, ATV Unit, and Mountain Unit.

“Cameron Goins was a dedicated community volunteer and will always be remembered and have a place within David Thompson Search and Rescue, and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to his family.”   - Sheriff Roby Bowe.

Sources: NBC Montana, JoCoSAR Blog

Free pocket-sized 'Track Card' for man-tracking field notes

Download and print this free Track Card—courtesy of Fernando Moreira, Professional Tracking Services,  Reno, Nevada—here.

Source: This article was adapted from man-tracking course material provided by Fernando Moreira of Professional Tracking Services in Reno, Nevada. Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with expressed written permission.

Fernando Moreira has been involved in man-tracking for over 40 years. He learned the art of tracking in Portugal, from his father—a Portuguese Combat Tracker—as well as from African bushmen, the Rhodesian military, and his four years with the Portuguese Army, where he served as a combat tracker during the African wars in Mozambique, Guinea, and Angola.

Fernando is a long-time member of several search and rescue units, including the Washoe County Sheriff’s Hasty Team and Washoe County Search & Rescue, Inc. His certifications include PSD Diver, Swift Water Rescuer, Back Country, SAR Tech II, Technical Rope, and Mine Rescue. He has been a State of Nevada-certified tracking instructor since 1997, and is a Nevada State P.O.S.T.-certified investigative tracker and instructor.

In addition to working on over 15,000 man-tracking cases—the longest of which was 46 miles!—Fernando has assisted local law enforcement officers in numerous manhunts for felons and searches for critical evidence in several high-profile investigations, including bank robberies, child molestations, and murders, most notably, the case against Siaosi Vanisi, who brutally murdered campus police officer George Daniel Sullivan in 1997. Fernando has received numerous awards, citations, and letters of merit, including: two-time recipient of the American Red Cross Real Hero Award; Rescuer of the Year; Excellence in Search and Rescue Medal, etc. He was nominated twice for America’s Most Wanted All Star Award

As the founder of both the Tactical Tracking School and Professional Tracking Services in Reno, Nevada, Fernando has taught over 5,000 military combat man-trackers, law enforcement tactical man-trackers, and search-and-rescue man-trackers across the United States and the world. To learn more about Fernando's man-tracking career, read "America’s Most Wanted: Staying on Track and Learning from the Best," which appeared in the Spring, 2008 issue of the Forensic Examiner.

• Fernando's Tactical Tracking School: Web site
• Fernando's Professional Tracking Services: Web site; Facebook Page No 1, No. 2
• Follow Fernando on Facebook: Personal Page; Tactical Tracking Group Page