Ohio Special Response Team - OSRT - Search and Rescue

06/18/2026

Ohio Special Response Team Receives Donated Zodiac Rescue Boat

The OSRT search & rescue team recently acquired a 16 foot Zodiac Mark III Grand Raider. The boat was previously owned and used by a city rescue service and is relatively good condition. We've been working on rejuvenating the sponsons and adjusting the various configurations of the craft in preparation for summer 2026. Unfortunately, the outboard motor we received could not be repaired so we're resigned to paddle power for the moment. This works out since a lot of the waterways we frequent are too shallow for a motor but we're working to update the propulsion to expand our coverage. More to come.

06/16/2026

Mark your calendars!

🐾 Join us help support the Ohio Special Response Team Search & Rescue Dogs!

Meet the incredible K9 team, enjoy live dog demonstrations, learn what it takes to become a search-and-rescue dog, and enter for a chance to win an amazing raffle basket donated by local supporters.

📅 June 27th at 1:00 PM
🎟️ Raffle tickets: Only $20 each (limited quantity available)
📸 Dog portraits available for $30, with proceeds benefiting the team

Come out, meet the dogs, and support a mission that helps save lives. ❤️🐕

06/10/2026

Come on out and meet our team!

🐾 Join us help support the Ohio Special Response Team Search & Rescue Dogs!

Meet the incredible K9 team, enjoy live dog demonstrations, learn what it takes to become a search-and-rescue dog, and enter for a chance to win an amazing raffle basket donated by local supporters.

📅 June 27th at 1:00 PM
🎟️ Raffle tickets: Only $20 each (limited quantity available)
📸 Dog portraits available for $30, with proceeds benefiting the team

Come out, meet the dogs, and support a mission that helps save lives. ❤️🐕

04/22/2026

Ohio Special Response Team K-9s Qualify in HRD-Water

Besa and Augie, with handler/mom Sarah Gentry, just passed their recertification in HRD-Water through IPWDA. This credential is critical to Ohio search and rescue since a majority of our searches include multiple water features. A credentialed and experienced K-9 has the ability to locate human remains underwater at a fraction of the cost of divers and watercraft with side scan sonar.

The International Police Work Dog Association (IPWDA) recertification exam for Human Remains Detection (Water), took place recently. This certification exam includes an obedience control test, a shoreline test and a boat test. The obedience requirements include tasks like a 5 minute down stay while the handler is 20 feet away, walking across an elevated plank without assistance, allowing a stranger to load the K9 into their vehicle and ability to ride calmly in a boat.

The shoreline test includes an area no larger than 300x12 feet of moving water. The K9 must perform the trained final response within 10 feet of the source location. The final test is in open water. The area must be over 250x250 feet. The source must be out of site below the water level. The K9 must perform the trained final response within 20 feet of the source.

04/22/2026

Painesville, Ohio - Missing Person Search

On Saturday, March 21st, members of the Ohio Special Response Team were called to assist the Painesville Police in locating a missing male. James Urbanick's vehicle was spotted around February 15th. His keys, wallet, cell phone and other possessions were in the unlocked vehicle.

An OSRT K-9 located James on Thursday, 26 March. Please pray for his family.

03/18/2026

Ohio Coffee House Introduces Cup Sleeves Featuring Missing Persons!

Carroll Cup Coffee House, located at 75 E. Canal St. in Fairfield County, Ohio is now serving coffee with cup sleeves featuring missing people. Andrew Chapman, a missing male from Columbus is shown on the initial 1,000 sleeves along with specifics for the ongoing search.

What an incredible effort and worthwhile initiative forming at the grassroots level! Hats off to the Carroll Cup Coffee House for taking a stand to contribute to the search! Let's send some business their way. It would be great if more businesses picked up on this idea.

03/04/2026

First Person View Drone Pilots Wanted

Are you a FPV drone pilot? OSRT would like to connect with FAA Certified FPV drone pilots with their own drone system living in Northeast Ohio. We're investigating the application of FPV competencies in the search & rescue environment.

Interested? Contact us at [email protected] with your details. Over 18 years of age only. Monitor this post for updates and for notification when we close the search.

03/03/2026

Ohio Special Response Team K-9 Called to House Fire

OSRT K-9 Besa with handler Sarah Gentry, searches structure of Canton house fire for possible victim. Fortunately, the individual who was thought lost in the fire was located in good health, having been out of the home during the incident.

02/03/2026

OSRT Team Members Attend Human Trafficking Seminar

Sarah Gentry and Dale Thompson recently spent the day attending a workshop entitled: “Closer to Home: Understanding Familial Trafficking”. Familial trafficking is recognized as a form of modern coercive sexploitation whereby a family member actually offers up an individual for trafficking purposes.

While it's important that we all recognize the indicators of possible trafficking in all its forms, the current material covered familial trafficking. Please take a moment and follow the link to familiarize yourself with the details. https://ashlandcountypictures.com/post/familial-trafficking-understanding-a-hidden-crisis-impacting-our-community/

Pictured here is OSRT's expert human trafficking detection K-9, BESA, with her handler Sarah Gentry and OSRT Commander Dale Thompson. BESA is the first, and thus far, only, search K-9 in the United States credentialed in locating hidden human trafficked victims. Members of the Ohio Special Response Team attend a wide range of search and rescue training venues, a large percentage of them relating specifically to human trafficking.

01/09/2026

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month! How Aware Are You?

Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery are VERY MUCH alive and unwell in the United States, even more so since we opened our southern border to whoever wanted to enter. People continue to be trafficked in a wide range of categories.

Members of the Ohio Special Response Team regularly attend formal courses covering human trafficking and related content. We integrate concepts and operational processes into our searches for missing persons throughout Ohio. While we wouldn’t expect the public to spend the amount of time we invest in attending formal training, we would like you to take a moment and consider expanding your awareness on the topic.

For example: Information indicates: 96.5% of missing children were accounted for by the end of 2024; there were 21,342 missing people, including 16,404 children under 18. Fortunately, the children were located, but what of the number of people still missing? What are the chances that many of them have been trafficked? Ohio Special Response Team search experts have worked multiple missing instances where children had been in the process of being trafficked. Fortunately, those children were rescued before they disappeared into the national and international labyrinthine maze of human trafficking.

Please look over this list of 20 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking from the U.S. State Department: https://www.state.gov/20-ways-you-can-help-fight-human-trafficking/

In the future, Ohio Special Response Team would like to conduct a series of short and focused awareness seminars. If you are interested in attending, or would like to suggest a specific topic, please go to http://ohiospecialresponseteam.org and submit a request.