Jacksonville Firefighters Use Virtual Search Planning (VSP) System To Find Missing Persons At An Effective Rate

Jacksonville, FL Local 122 has been helping local law enforcement close out mission persons’ cases at an impressive rate, thanks to an emerging system that can accurately predict likely locations.

Virtual Search Planning (VSP)

The system, called Virtual Search Planning (VSP) combines case studies, multiple data points on individuals, geography and weather, and then uses mapping software to predict directional patterns and possible locations of missing persons not believed to have been abducted.

For instance, a person with autism may be drawn to the calming effect of water, while young children are likely to be found less than 500 yards from their original locations. People are creatures of habit and VSP includes those habits in calculating positive locations.

Searching and finding missing persons

Jacksonville Fire Department’s Battalion Special Operations Chief, Robin Gainey, also a Board Member of Local 122, says each week some five or six persons are reported missing in the Jacksonville metro area, a city of more than 1 million people.

Those missing are most often children, persons with disabilities or older persons with Dementia

Those missing are most often children, persons with disabilities or older persons with Dementia. Abducted cases involve too many variables for the VSP system to be effective.

“Once the police department has contacted us, they have determined that a missing person has not been abducted and are seeking our help in the search,” said Robin Gainey.

VSP assembles essential information of missing people

From there, the fire department will contact VSP, owned by Virtual Search, LLC and run by Paul Burke, a retired Alaska State Trooper, who has been searching for and finding people during his entire career.

Paul Burke will assemble essential bits of information, such as age, gender, medical history, local terrain and weather. That, coupled with decades of experience on predictive behavior, will help narrow the search dramatically and provide likely locations.

Statistical data and open-source information

“We are essentially using statistical data and open-source information from the internet, to create a high-definition picture of the missing person,” said Paul Burke, adding “We predict where the person is and then say go find them now.”

In 2019, the Jacksonville Fire Department was successful in finding two siblings, ages five and seven, one with a disability, who had wandered away from their trailer home neighborhood and had been missing for more than two days.

VSP system and mapping software

Using the VSP system and mapping software, firefighters were able to find the children about 500 yards from their original location. Robin Gainey says the fire department is now locating missing persons 80 percent of the time.