Stretcher carry challenge for search and rescue funds
A stretcher carry event to raise money for a charity which helps find missing people will take place in Guildford today.
Surrey Search & Rescue (Surrey SAR) is raising funds as it says demand has "significantly increased" for its services.
The organisation said more than 2,100 people go missing in the county every year.
Mike Draper, the chairman of Surrey SAR, said: "It has got a lot busier in the last few years, Covid-19 has given people different reasons to go missing."
Surrey SAR is a voluntary specialist search team which assists the emergency services with finding missing vulnerable adults and children.
Mr Draper said Surrey SAR was the second line of response after the police in missing person cases.
The team is made up of 64 volunteers, who respond to callouts throughout the day.
He added that "drones are becoming more and more useful to us, especially with heat cameras" in their efforts, as they can use them to track people and direct teams on the ground.
People will be invited to do a relay carrying the stretcher up and down Guildford High Street 12 times, the equivalent to carrying a stretcher up and down Leith Hill, Surrey's tallest point.
Mr Draper added that there will not be anyone on the stretcher to make the challenge easier for but he "will not be participating!"
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