Maria Gomolka from the BRK district association in Miesbach looked for the missing Julia (8) with her husband and her rescue dogs a week ago in the Bohemian Forest.
We talked to her.
District - The disappearance of eight-year-old Julia a week ago in the Bohemian Forest kept the whole of Germany in suspense.
Four emergency services who were involved in the search in the Czech Republic are Maria Gomolka (56), training manager of the rescue dog squadron of the BRK district association Miesbach, her husband Johannes Buitkamp, tactical operations manager, and Iron and Copper - the couple's rescue dogs.
We spoke to the doctor of radiation biology, who works full-time at the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, about her extraordinary honorary position.
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Dog handler of the BRK MIesbach about her participation in the search for Julia (8)
Ms. Gomolka, what was your assignment like in the Czech Republic?
Our entire squadron was alerted on Monday morning.
This was done through the General Secretariat of the DRK in Berlin, as it was a foreign assignment.
Six teams traveled to the Czech Republic in their private cars.
We haven't had a rescue dog car since the explosion in the BRK building in Bad Wiessee in 2017.
Only the head of operations drove off in an old emergency car - which then ended up lying on the autobahn with engine failure.
Another team finally took it with them - including emergency equipment such as a laptop and digital radios.
Sounds like bad starting conditions. What other challenges did you face?
One difficulty was getting Czech cards.
As a rule, we get the search area played on our GPS devices.
As standard we have German maps available, in the Miesbach district also Austrian ones.
But not Czech ones.
We then downloaded the cards as mobile data and played them on the laptop.
That was precarious because the internet connection was bad.
But it worked.
According to media reports, the search area was difficult to access ...
Above all, the forest areas to be searched were infinitely large.
That is why more than 100 rescue dog teams were deployed, including mantrailer dogs from the police.
The area assigned to me and Iron was approximately 60,000 square meters.
We were able to search that in about 40 minutes because the forest there was very light.
On the other hand, it took my husband and his dog Copper over an hour to cover an area of the same size because the undergrowth was so thick there.
Did you search your area by yourself?
No, you always look for two - apart from the dog.
A team always consists of a dog handler and a helper who is responsible for orientation and for sparking.
In the search for Julia, my husband and I helped each other out.
What went on in you when you were looking for a child who wandered alone, without food and in the cold in the forest?
I have two children myself.
That is the absolute horror notion.
You only stop looking when you really can't anymore.
We knew that the girl needed our help.
It was a race against time ...
One must enter such a mission with optimism.
I was sure: the girl is alive and we will find her.
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"The cooperation between the approximately 1400 emergency services was great"
She was then found by a forester four kilometers from the place where she disappeared.
The dog teams had not yet entered this area.
The search area was determined based on a trail taken by a mantrailer dog.
Where the mantrailer didn't know what to do next, the area search dogs took over.
The cooperation between the approximately 1400 emergency services was great.
Such a mission only works in teamwork.
Even the local people supported us.
A butcher, for example, bought food.
What is the difference between mantrailer and area search dogs?
The mantrailers - also called person tracking dogs - look for the scent trail of a very specific person.
The area search dogs record the scent of every person who is in the search area.
In ideal conditions - light forest with little undergrowth and a constant wind - it can absorb the weather up to 200 meters.
What requirements does a dog have to meet to be used as a search dog?
He has to be very independent.
Because he looks for the scent himself.
He walks a lot, moves up to 200 meters away from his search team and keeps coming back.
He also has to be wild-proof.
So that he doesn't start chasing the game instead of looking for people.
And he needs a lot of zeal to work.
Shortly before their mission in the search for Julia, the BRK dog squadron Miesbach organized the nationwide test for rubble dogs. Why in Erding and not with us in the district?
Because we had ideal test conditions there on the premises of the Rohrdorfer, Hasit and Fehlberger companies.
There are heaps of rubble, storage areas of stones, pipes and buildings in which we could build hiding places with the help of pallets.
We are always grateful when we are given demolition buildings or the like in the Miesbach district for training purposes.
Did all 17 teams pass the exam?
Unfortunately, no.
After all, nine teams passed.
The others mustn't be sad.
The rubble search is really the supreme discipline.
Rubble dogs have to be courageous, safe and calm on various surfaces.
This is checked in the dexterity test, for example, by inspecting a seesaw, barrel bridge and ladder.
Don't let noise or smoke distract you from your search.
You need jumping skills and good obedience.
Because the search for rubble is very dangerous.
Finally, there is a risk of collapse.
That is why there are only a few dog owners who train their dog to become a rubble dog.