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When a hiker goes missing, the public often pictures helicopters and grid searches. Former National Park Service protection ranger and author Andrea Lankford says the reality is more complicated and more human: one-person patrols hours from backup, perishable rope and medical skills, families living in limbo, and a growing ecosystem of online sleuths and volunteer searchers who sometimes find what agencies miss.
In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Lankford about what “the thin green line” looks like in practice and what her investigation into three Pacific Crest Trail disappearances taught her about technology, teamwork and trust.
About our guest
Andrea Lankford is a former National Park Service ranger who performed firefighting, law enforcement and life-saving wilderness medicine in some of the nation’s most demanding parks, including Cape Hatteras, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. She received multiple awards for her work as a ranger investigator and implemented the “Heat kills, hike smart” public education program, which has been credited with preventing heat-related deaths at the Grand Canyon and continues to save lives today.
Lankford is the author of five nonfiction books, including “Ranger Confidential: Living, Working and Dying in the National Parks” and “Haunted Hikes: Spine-Tingling Tales and Trails from North America’s National Parks.” Her most recent book, “Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail,” was an instant New York Times bestseller.
About our sponsor
This episode of the Policing Matters podcast is brought to you by LVT, the mobile surveillance solution trusted by public-sector leaders nationwide. LVT’s solar-powered mobile surveillance units put eyes and AI analytics where fixed cameras can’t — parking lots, remote borders, disaster zones, and large events. Agencies using LVT have seen up to an 83% drop in parking-lot incidents and a 54% reduction in burglaries. Each unit is rapid to deploy, cloud-connected via cellular or satellite, and secured end-to-end so your team can monitor and respond in real time with fewer resources. See how LVT’s self-powered units protect communities, secure critical infrastructure and support law-enforcement operations and schedule a free trial today at LVT.com.
Tune in to hear
- Why protection rangers say their job is to protect the park from people, people from the park and people from each other
- How burnout, a thru-hike and one unresolved Grand Canyon search pushed Lankford to reopen a missing hiker case pro bono
- What she learned by embedding with Facebook-based volunteer search teams and how those groups can help or hurt an investigation
- How drones and “image squinting” are being used to spot clues in dangerous terrain without putting searchers at risk
- The common mistakes that turn routine hikes into survival situations and why recognition is often the first lifesaving decision
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