Read this first
- This is life-safety guidance. Confirm group lost-person and rescue procedures against NPS, the Guide to Safe Scouting, and local SAR authorities before you rely on them. A unit does not conduct technical rescue — that is for trained professionals.
What to do
- 1Prevent it — use the buddy system and file a trip plan with a responsible adult before you go.
- 2Stay together on the trail — pace for the slowest member, check in often, and never let anyone wander off alone; send buddies.
- 3If you get lost — STOP, stay put, work S-T-O-P (Stay calm, Think, Observe, Plan), and signal in threes to be found.
- 4If a group member is missing — stop everyone; retrace to the last spot you saw them and wait there, as long as it's safe.
- 5Do NOT send people searching off-trail — that just makes more lost people; keep the group together.
- 6Call for help — 911 if you have signal (location first); no signal, keep the group together and go to the nearest ranger station or visitor center.
- 7Brief the rescuers — last known location, trail or area, landmarks, the person's clothing colors, gear, and any medical needs. Then follow the professionals.
When to use it
- Any hike, campout, or backcountry trip where a member could get separated.
- Emergency Preparedness and wilderness-survival skills.
- Teaching younger scouts to stay put ("hug a tree") and to travel with a buddy.
Common mistakes & safety
- Don't become the second victim. The most dangerous instinct is to charge off alone after a missing person or swim to a drowning one. Search from safety, in a group, and hand technical rescue to professionals.
- Don't scatter to search. When a member is missing, keep the group together, return to the last-seen point, and wait — sending people off-trail multiplies the lost, not the searchers.
- Report early. A search starts fastest when someone is missed fast — that's why the buddy system and a filed trip plan matter.
- Stay put if you're the lost one. Wandering enlarges the search area and burns the warmth and energy you need; make yourself findable instead.
- Water: reach, throw, row before go — an untrained rescuer entering the water is how one drowning becomes two.
Going deeper
- Prevention is the real rescue technique. Most SAR call-outs trace back to no buddy, no plan, or no one told. Two habits — a buddy and a filed plan — prevent most searches from ever needing to start.
- Wait at the last-seen point. It's counter-intuitive to stop when someone's missing, but staying together at the last known location is exactly what rangers ask for.
- Reach before you go. For both land and water, the rule is the same: help from where you're safe first; only trained rescuers put themselves in the hazard.
Official source
Outdoor Emergency Plan — National Park Service →The group lost-person response is from the NPS. Confirm any unit-specific procedures against the Guide to Safe Scouting. First aid for a found casualty lives on the first-aid pages; no dosages here.