Julia (8) from Berlin was missing for two days.
The girl had disappeared while hiking with the family.
The search for the child was very emotional.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
- The search for the missing Julia kept the public in suspense a few days ago. Five teams from the rescue dog squadron of the BRK Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen were also involved in the extensive search. The eight-year-old disappeared on Sunday while hiking in the Bavarian-Czech border area near Waldmünchen. There was general relief when she was found largely safe and sound on Tuesday. Volunteers from the BRK rescue dog team in the district also helped with the search. In addition to specialist service manager Vanessa Schallmoser, helpers from the Loisachtal, Bad Tölz, Geretsried and Egling were also on duty. In an interview with Kurier editor Andreas Steppan, Vanessa Schallmoser reports how it went.
Ms. Schallmoser, how did the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen rescue dog squad come to search for the Upper Palatinate?
After the rescue dogs from the local region had been in action for a while and needed a break, there was a supra-local alert from rescue dog teams from all over Bavaria.
Missing Julia (8): Dog teams from Upper Bavaria also helped with the search
A total of over 100 rescue dog teams were coordinated on site. How unusual was the mission for you?
Such large assignments are something special for us.
That we are active outside the region only happens every few years.
How did you work on site?
When we arrived in the border area, everything was very well organized by the BRK, the fire brigade and the police.
The operations management assigned us a specific area, which we then systematically searched.
Together with two other members of our rescue dog team, my nine-year-old Labrador male Woody and I were on duty for a total of three and a half hours from 10 p.m.
We divided our area by three and searched one by one.
Two other members of our squadron were on duty before us.
Missed Julia two nights outdoors: temperatures around freezing point
What were the conditions in your search?
We were traveling in a very dense forest area, the temperatures were heading towards freezing point.
So difficult conditions ...
Working in the dark is quite normal for us.
Alerts about missing persons are often not received until later in the day - for example, if a person with dementia from an old people's home has not returned by nightfall.
The dogs actually prefer cold, damp weather when searching, because then most of the particles stick to the nose.
Dramatic search for Julia (8) from Berlin: Great relief after a successful search
What feelings do you have when you go into such an emotional outing, the search for a child?
Of course you remember that a child spends the second night outside in the freezing cold.
But our missions are always about human life, so we don't make any difference whether it is a child or an old person.
You have to be able to deal with this pressure, you need good resilience.
Training is prepared for this.
Then how great was the relief when you heard that Julia had been found?
It was very redeeming news and a wonderful moment for all of us.
Even if we didn't find them ourselves, it was like a reward for our efforts - for training our dogs for a day every weekend.
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