Kathleen Duclos delivered a straightforward, if politically difficult message to lawmakers last week: She wants the Legislature to strip the Vermont State Police force of the authority to conduct search-and-rescue missions.
“The reasons for this are not revenge or punishment,” Duclos said. “I simply believe that the VSP is the wrong organization for the job.”
In a brief speech to the House Government Operations Committee, Duclos described the events of Jan. 9 when her nephew, 19-year-old Levi Duclos, went missing on a Ripton hiking trail. Her family waited 14 hours for the Vermont State Police to conduct a search for the young man who later was found dead on the Emily Proctor Trail.
The family called 9-1-1 at 8 p.m., she said, and she waited at the trailhead for troopers to arrive while three other family members searched for Levi. The first officer was on the scene at 10 p.m., according to her testimony, but a search was not authorized until 1 a.m. when the supervisor, Trooper McNamara, arrived on the scene. After she sat in his car at the trailhead, answering questions for a missing persons report, she was informed that the state police don’t conduct nighttime searches.
“We called 9-1-1,” Duclos said. “We trusted them. We knew the Vermont State Police did search and rescue.”
By the time troopers began their search at 10 a.m., Levi, who was found three miles from the Emily Proctor trailhead, was dead. His dog, Duke, remained near the body. The family is awaiting autopsy and toxicology reports for the cause of death.
Carol Ault, Kathleen Duclos’ sister, said troopers didn’t ping Levi’s cell phone to track his location until the morning of their search. His body was found a half mile from the phone. The sisters say they believe hypothermia set in and he likely became disoriented as a result and dropped his phone.
After Levi’s death, the family found out that “there were plenty of folks nearby in Ripton and Lincoln who were ready, able and willing to be here, and could have been there hours earlier,” Kathleen Duclos said.
“I hope this helps to illustrate my belief that the VSP are too hierarchical, too procedure driven, too crime oriented and spread too thinly to effectively handle primary SAR (Search and Rescue) responsibilities,” Kathleen Duclos told lawmakers. “We have other organizations in Vermont who are ready to take over this responsibility. Probably none of the other responsibilities of the VSP could be passed on to other organizations, but this one can be and should be.”
She said the state police should be required to share certain assets — cell phone locating technology and canine units — in a timely fashion to search-and-rescue teams.
“I believe it will become clear there is a better way,” Kathleen Duclos said.
As a result of a series of stories in the media, the bungled search and rescue response in the case of Levi Duclos has caught the attention of lawmakers. Rep. Willem Jewett, a Democrat who represents Ripton, is considering legislation that would clarify the distinction between a missing person, or criminal search, and more timely search-and-rescue efforts. Sen. Vince Illuzzi, R-Essex-Orleans, has introduced a bill that calls for the formation of a search and rescue study committee.
In other states, search and rescue teams operate separately from state police functions; in Maine and New Hampshire, local game wardens are responsible for finding missing recreationalists. In New York, the forest service is the point organization. Out of 50 states, only five, like Vermont, give state police officers the primary responsibility for search and rescue, though even then, troopers in other states work closely with volunteer groups.
In an apparent response to public pressure, the Vermont State Police announced it would change its search and rescue policy two days before the House committee took testimony on the issue last Wednesday.
Under the new protocol, which went into effect immediately, troopers are required to notify the local fire chief and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife officials about missing hikers and other recreationalists. The state police will also initiate “unified command” protocols for search and rescue incidents.
Search and rescue would remain under the purview of the state police, according to John Wood, the deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Service.
Wood told lawmakers the policy was changed to “ensure a coordinated response.”
“There’s always been an unwritten procedure,” Wood said. “But it’s not always been consistent around the state that fire departments are always contacted.”
He said the protocol was tested last weekend when troopers received six phone calls from ice fishermen on Lake Memphremagog who were caught in high winds and a snowy white out. Within a half hour, Wood said, local fire departments and state police had everyone off the ice.
Wood told lawmakers that the state police are best situated to handle search and rescue operations because troopers are located throughout the state and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department doesn’t have the resources to “sustain long-term search events for missing persons in large areas.” Searches, he said, can take days, sometimes weeks to complete.
“The Vermont State Police has the responsibility to replace people and keep the search moving along,” Wood said.
Trooper Walter Goodell, a field major, gave his deepest condolences to the family before he testified. “No matter what we say, it’s not going to bring Levi back,” Goodell said. The change in police policy, he said, is a “step in the right direction and it’s something we can do right now.”
“I don’t know if it had been in place that night that it would have made a difference,” Goodell said.
In an interview, Goodell said troopers followed correct protocols in their response to the 9-1-1 call from the Duclos family. When asked whether the state police conduct nighttime searches, Goodell said it depends. “Every scenario is different,” Goodell said. “Every situation is different.”
Troopers, he said, have to consider the weather conditions and terrain. “You may also want to consider getting a canine asset in there before you walk in,” Goodell said.
Rep. Michel Consejo, D-Swanton, said this isn’t the first time the state police have had to locate a missing hiker and he asked Goodell what was different this time.
“The difference is this situation ended the way it did, in tragedy,” Goodell said. “It forces us to look at our policies and it prompts discussions about what needs to occur.”
Neil Van Dyke, a founding member of Stowe Mountain Rescue and president of the national Mountain Rescue Association, told lawmakers it’s important to stay focused on improving the search and rescue process. “We need to be thoughtful, and not change things for the sake of change, but to make the process better,” Van Dyke said.
The state police notification policy change is a start, he said, but fire department officials don’t necessarily have search-and-rescue skills, he said. Emergency responders must be qualified and trained in order to be effective.
“This is more complex than notifying fire departments,” Van Dyke said. “It’s going to take time to do this properly. I encourage us to take the time to do it right because that’s what is going to benefit the state.”
Van Dyke said Vermont’s lack of a legal distinction between missing persons and search and rescue, is highly unusual.
Jewett, who is deputy House Majority leader, said there is difference between a locating a missing person in a potential crime situation and a search and rescue effort for a recreationalist.“In search and rescue, speed is key and bad outcomes are related to delayed responses,” he said.
He pointed to the search and rescue system in the Adirondacks, in which several hundred rescuers can be mobilized in a matter of hours. “Something like that needs to be our standard,” Jewett said.
The House Government Operations committee has asked legislative counsel to draft legislation and it will take more testimony after the Town Meeting Day break.
