MAN-TRACKING: 11 guidelines for aging sign

MAN-TRACKING: A sample tracking card

MAN-TRACKING: Interpreting creases and folds in vegetation

MAN-TRACKING: How track a subject in, along, or across a waterway

Source: This article was adapted from Sign and The Art of Tracking—A Guide to Support Law Enforcement Tracking and Anti-Poaching Operations, by Christian Nellemann, UNEP/GRID, Arendal, Norway, Rapid Response; with Jack Kearney, U.S. Border Patrol, retired; Stig Nårstad, Norwegian Police; and the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme. Copyright © 2011 by Interpol, Lyon, France; and UNEP/GRID, Arendal, Norway. Excerpted with Expressed Written Permission. All Rights Reserved.

MAN-TRACKING: The Rhodesian tracking method

MAN-TRACKING: Work the ‘path of most resistance’ when signcutting

MAN-TRACKING: ‘Cow’ shoes used by moonshiners in 1924 to disguise their footprints

Source: Library of Congress via RetroNaut.com via Institute of Visual Tracking & Tactical Acuity via Bill Adams.

MAN-TRACKING: How to use a tracking box to learn the art of tracking, by John Hurth, author of the "Combat Tracking Guide"

MAN-TRACKING: How to track the neutral-pitch-angle subject

To learn more about Greenside Training, LLC, point your Internet browser here.

Man-Tracking—How to use light to your advantage, by David Scott-Donelan

The main reason we are able to see tracks is because light from the sun casts a shadow in the imprint of the sole pattern on the ground. It follows then that footwear with a deeply cut sole pattern will cause deep imprints on soft ground and therefore cast more distinct shadows, and shallow sole patterns will create less distinct shadows.

The time shadow effect. Note that the shadow effect is more prominent in the early morning when the sun's angle is low. As the sun moves higher in the sky toward the midday, the shadow diminishes until it can no longer be seen. As the sun drops toward the horizon throughout the afternoon, the shadow reappears. Therefore, the optimal times for tracking are early to mid-morning and late afternoon.

It also follows that the lower the sun angle relative to the footprint, the more distinct and obvious the shadow will be. As the sun rises to its peak, the shadow in the print will become less distinct until at midday, with the sun directly overhead, it disappears completely. With the passing of the day, the sun, moving down to the horizon in the west, will cause the shadow effect to reappear, making the print visible again, as illustrated.

The cross-section of a plain, un-patterned sole. Due to a lack of sharp edges, this sole does not cast any shadows.

With this in mind, the optimal time for tracking is from early to mid-morning and mid-afternoon to early evening. The worst time is from shortly before to shortly after noon. As combat trackers we must never let this influence the follow-up, which must go on nonstop irrespective of the time of day, until contact with the quarry is made. Tracking is a little more difficult during the midday period, but if the tracker sticks to the basic principles progress will be made. Bear in mind that your quarry may want to stop and rest during the heat of midday, giving the tracker the opportunity to cut down the time/distance gap.

The tracker must learn to take advantage of the sun's angle and look for the spoor from a position where the prints are between him and the sun. This way the shadow effect is maximized and the prints are easier to see. To illustrate this, place a line of prints on clear, soft ground and walk around them in a circle. You will see that at certain angles the shadow effect is greater and the prints seem to stand out. If you look up you will see that the prints will be directly between you and the sun. By tracking from this angle, even if you have to look back over your shoulder, your progress will be better and faster.

As has already been stressed, operational trackers must keep the follow-up momentum going in an aggressive way whatever the light conditions. Very often there will be no sunlight at all, or the trail will pass through shaded areas, making the tracks difficult to see. Tracking is still possible in these conditions, and with practice you will overcome these temporary handicaps.

If pursuing armed and dangerous fugitives, under no circumstances should tactical trackers operate at night. Search-and-rescue tracking, however, can be carried out in the dark using flashlights, lanterns, or car headlights as a substitute for the sun.

Source: This article was adapted from Tactical Tracking Operations: The Essential Guide for Military and Police Trackers, by David Scott-Donelan, founder of the Scott Donelan Tracking School (TSDTS). Copyright © 1998. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with Expressed Written Permission. To order your copy of this manual, point your Internet browser here.

David Scott-Donelan is a Rhodesian Special Air Service (SAS) veteran with nearly 30 years of active, counter-insurgency, war-zone service in Rhodesia, South Africa, Mozambique, and South-West Africa/Namibia. His service included an assignment with the famed Selous Scouts, commanding a remote Bush Warfare & Tracking School.

In 1994, he founded the Tactical Tracking Operations School (TTOS) in Arizona, which remained an internationally-recognized tracking venue while under his stewardship.

In 2010, Scott-Donelan founded The Scott Donelan Tracking School (TSDTS), offering a wide variety of variety of professional man-tracking courses including three levels of combat tracking for military personnel; tactical tracking for law enforcement personnel; non-hostile man-tracking for search-and-rescue personnel; and basic tracking for civilians.

Like his other business ventures—including heading up the US Army Combat Tracking School at southern Arizona's Fort Huachuca for several years; and developing the US Marine Corps Combat Hunter Project, which consisted of training US Marines in Day and Night Observation, Combat Profiling (now called Human Terrain Analysis) and Combat Tracking—TSDTS quickly became an internationally-recognized visual-tracking venue for elite military and law enforcement units including US Army Special Forces (SF), Marine (USMC) Force Reconnaissance, Navy SEALS, USAF EST, and police SWAT, SOT and SRTs.

TSDTS-trained trackers have successfully tracked down insurgents, criminals, and fugitives; collected evidence/intelligence crucial to the apprehension and prosecution of criminals; detected IEDs (counter); captured and killed enemy combatants; and reclaimed weapons caches in operational theaters around the globe.To learn more about TSDTS, or schedule training, click here.

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

Man-tracking: Lost-track procedures

During the man-tracking process, it is critical that you NEVER walk on and destroy the sign, but walk on the side of the sign line.

Make sure that you mark every critical partial print or sign at intervals, so that you have confirmed sign to return to if you lose the sign line.

Christian Nellemann

This article was adapted from Sign and The Art of Tracking—A Guide to Support Law Enforcement Tracking and Anti-Poaching Operations, by Christian Nellemann, UNEP/GRID, Arendal, Norway, Rapid Response; with Jack Kearney, U.S. Border Patrol, retired; Stig Nårstad, Norwegian Police; and the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme. Copyright © 2011 by Interpol, Lyon, France; and UNEP/GRID, Arendal, Norway. Excerpted with expressed written permission. All rights Reserved.

While you should never move beyond the last visual sign, sometimes the speed required and the use of track traps to overcome the time-distance gap may cause you to lose the sign.

Remember to confirm the sign line as often as possible, and in the case of lost children or similar – never lose it, but take the time needed.

If you do loose the sign, follow these lost-track procedures:

1. If track is lost – STOP!
2. Move back 5–30 m to last known certain track and look for likely route of evasion.
3. Cut around specifically targeting track traps – and look for confirmatory sign.
4. Circle around and look for track traps in funneling terrain, moving as perpendicular on track as possible and stepping only where you will clearly see any imprint/sign that you make, if possible.
5. Confirm fresh sign or print.
6. Assign spoor again to dog along with encouragement.
7. If track is lost along road, trafficated area, in water or in dry vegetation, cut along sides or in track traps until you find the exit.
8. Re-confirm track and spoor and continue.
9. If unsuccessful, go back to last positive sign/print/track (marked!) and re-try. If necessary go step-by-step.
10. Re-deploy dog/tracker on new route.

Man-Tracking – Capturing Modern Criminals with Ancient Skills

Good article tactical tracking during manhunts by Gabriel Russell, on the Law Enforcement Today Web site...

A worst case scenario become common occurrence, savage acts of violence followed by flight into the wilds. A rapist, child-molester or murderer flees from the urban scene of their crime to a remote rural location and poses a potentially lethal threat to anyone he encounters. A manhunt begins. Local jurisdictions converge and cooperate to offer chase. Most of the officers involved lack the training, experience and equipment to best deal with the conditions.

It’s the worst crimes that inspire this desperate act. A perpetrator who faces certain life in prison or the death penalty may use violence to avoid capture. The longer they are on the loose the greater the danger to the public. Not only are the officers involved often not fully prepared to deal with the situation, but though the size and scope of the operation demands a multi-agency response, the participating departments are typically ill-equipped to conduct joint operations under these unique conditions...

Read full article here.

Ex-Navy SEAL will try to outwit world's elite man-tracking teams on Discovery Channel's new "Lone Target" TV series

This could be an interesting man-tracking show, according to Discovery.com...

Let the games begin! Discovery Channel is going on the ultimate chase in a real-life game of cat-and-mouse, pitting ex-Navy SEAL Joel Lambert against the world's most elite military and law enforcement tracking teams in new series LONE TARGET. 

Video clip from show.

With only what he can carry on his back, Joel will play an extreme version of hide-and-seek in unknown treacherous terrain with nothing but a basic survival kit and canteen of water as he attempts to evade capture in 48-hours or less.

Using diversionary tactics and survival techniques gained from his 10-years of experience as a Navy SEAL, will Joel's training, skill and cunning be enough to help him escape? Find out on LONE TARGET Wednesday, January 1 at 10 PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel. The series will also air on Discovery Channel in 224 countries and territories internationally under the title MANHUNT, beginning in February 2014.

In each episode of LONE TARGET, Joel is dropped at an unknown secret starting point, and with a small head start, must evade capture from a different elite military or law enforcement tracking team and make his extraction - in less than two days - or risk capture.


Following the chase side-by-side with cameras capturing the action from both perspectives, viewers get to experience first-hand the thrill of the hunt as he is being pursued by: the U.S. Army's Phantom Recon unit in Arizona, the Straz Graniczna border guard in Poland, the South African International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF), the Army Scout Rangers in the Philippines, Panama's elite anti-drug force, SENAFRONT and the South Korean National Police SWAT unit.

With Joel's reputation and the trackers' national pride at risk, the stakes are extraordinarily high. An expert in escape and evasion, Joel's background has well-positioned him to prey on each unit's hidden flaws-but evading highly specialized military tracking units and combating dehydration, hunger and the natural elements proves to be a greater challenge. Will Joel succeed or will he fall victim to the military or the environment?

Source: Discovery Press Web; Tactical Tracking Operations School

New "Combat Tracker" group page on Facebook

If you're a man-tracker, or want to learn more about man-tracking, check out the new Combat Tracker group page on Facebook.

It's administered by John Hurth, the president of the Carencro, Louisiana-based TÝR Group, which offers instruction in tracking, small unit tactics, survival, bushcraft, and more, to military units, law enforcement departments, civilian agencies, search-and-rescue teams, and outdoor enthusiasts.

Hurth, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who was awarded the Bronze Star, is also the author of the Combat Tracking Guide.

The 7 fundamental principles of man-tracking

The seven (7) fundamental principles of man-tracking:

1. Positively identify the tracks you're going to follow.
2. Keep the track line between you and the light source.
3. Observe and track as far out as the sign can be recognized.
4. Never move further than the last known sign.
5. Never contaminate the sign.
6. Never track faster than your abilities allow.
7. Get into the mind of the quarry.

Source: This article was adapted from the Combat Tracking Guide, by John D. Hurth, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who was awarded the Bronze Star. Copyright © 2012 by Stackpole Books. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with expressed written permission. To purchase this book or inquire about Hurth’s man-tracking classes and tactical, force-on-force training programs, contact the TÝR Group, LLC; www.TYRgroupLLC.com, 1.337.344.7928.

John D. Hurth, US Army Special Forces Soldier, retired

The Combat Man-Trackers of the Vietnam War

Great article entitled "Vietnam's Combat Trackers," by Ken Olsen, in the American Legion Magazine...

Pete Peterson was recruited for the combat trackers while recovering at a U.S. military hospital in Japan during the fall of 1968. It wasn’t a hard sell for the two trackers who shared his hospital ward. Peterson had lost several friends in a firefight with the North Vietnamese while he was sidelined with an ankle injury. “The tracker’s job was to hunt down the enemy,” says Peterson, who had been serving with an infantry company. “I liked the idea of that. I wanted some payback.”

When he returned to Vietnam, Peterson joined one of the elite Army teams charged with finding an enemy known for melting into the jungle, gathering intelligence, and searching for missing U.S. soldiers and pilots. Although the secrecy surrounding the combat trackers has meant their accomplishments were all but lost to history, they were so successful that the North Vietnamese army put a bounty on the five-man teams and their Labrador retrievers. That bounty was a point of pride with the trackers, part of what made the work both arduous and gratifying. Read more here...

Source: Institute of Visual Tracking & Tactical Acuity