Trails Found - Grasky Tracking School

Every expert started out as a beginner. Here 3 young men are showing an older guy what they see. God bless everyone who exposes someone to the wonders of Tracking and all the knowledge and skills that come with it.

At midnight, on a cold December night, Havre city Police responded to a break-in and burglary of a mobile home. The thieves gained entry and then exited through a large broken window. At the bottom of the window, a single foot print was discovered. It was of a type like a Converse All Star Tennis Shoe. This footgear has a distinct shape and patterns. The track was pointed toward a dirt alley way. A Havre Policeman called me in to help, and he and I began a tracking operation. The alley surface was hard packed and frozen, and no real identifiable track was visible. However, it was at night, and we used flashlights to cast long beams of light. In this way, we were able to detect abrasions and scuff marks and displaced items. The thieves had stolen some heavy objects, a large TV, a portable oven and a radio and record player. We made a deduction that carrying these heavy objects was a factor in their leaving the sign that they were. The sign indicated travel west bound. Along the route, the dirt alley way was intersected by a paved street. At this point we looked for transferred material that might come from the alley way. This was minute, but visible, because of the light angle of the flashlight. The end result of this operation was that we found a Converse All Star track leading into a residence. One of the occupants was wearing this foot gear. Three people were arrested and stolen property recovered. The tracking operation started around midnight and was successfully concluded right before dawn.

While accompanying a security officer who was doing a perimeter check around the telescope facilities on Mount Graham in Arizona, we found vehicle tracks that were going into an area marked “No Trespassing.” This concerned the officer as there had been threats from certain radical environmental groups stating an intention to do harm to the scopes. We followed the vehicle tracks which led to a parked unoccupied vehicle. Foot tracks led toward the scope site.

The officer had a tracking dog with him. The dog got on the trail, and it led to the discovery of three people who were in a small clearing. The group had a radio, a set of field glasses and a map and compass. We had come upon this group silently and they were unaware of us observing them. At this point, the officer said to me “I didn’t get a good count of the people leaving the vehicle.” I told him that the track count was at least five. With this information at hand, we came up with an operational plan. Since we could see only three people and not the other two, and the vegetation around the clearing was dense, and dusk was coming on, we decided that we would return to the parked vehicle and make contact with all of the people there. We did just that.

Just before dark, at the vehicle, five people were apprehended for trespassing. They were indeed scouting out the area and facility layout for possible future activity against the scopes. This is a case that points out an important fact…dogs are great trackers, but they can’t count!

TRACKING AND SIGNCUTTING AS THEREPY

Learning how to Track and Signcut can have therapeutic value of its own. I have given training sessions in Man-Tracking and Signcutting to wounded warriors as part of a therapy program. One day a week for about 4 hours, we would concern ourselves with learning the skill sets involved. After several sessions spent learning the fundamentals, the group would form into teams and go operational. Practical hands-on field exercises were set up, such as finding a lost person, investigating a crime site, gathering information and intelligence. These warriors, both male and female, developed a pride in themselves and a comradery with others. They were back in service again with a special purpose and sense of mission. They were accomplishing things that many would consider impossible. One warrior had very bad legs and he could not keep up with his team as they tracked. This situation was addressed by putting that warrior on a horse. This individual developed into a very capable horse mounted Tracker.

TRACKING & SURVIVAL…

Joe Walker was a well known and very savvy Mountain Man. He had a reputation of being able to take groups of trappers (Fur Brigades) into very hostile areas, get furs and come out alive and whole. A reporter in 1840 asked Joe how it was that his Brigades had such a high survival rate when others did not. Joe answered that he made sure his men were very good at reading sign. The reporter asked, “Sign, what is that?” Joe in a colorful way replied it’s knowing how to spot what is there that ought not to be, and what ought to be there but isn’t. He was expressing the idea that sign is any change from the natural and normal state of things. Joe Walker and his fellow Mountain Men were very keen on reading sign. This story hopefully will stir some thoughts about how Tracking and Signcutting ought to be considered a corner stone skill for anyone going into harm’s way.

REPORTING TRACKS AND SIGN

A part of Tracking is being able to put into words what is observed and detected along the trackline. The following is a pretty good investigative report that was used to tie a subject to a crime.

“I determined the stride of the individual by measurement of heel print to heel print. I used this measurement to determine the approximate placement of each foot fall. In the area of each foot fall I looked for an imprint of the subject’s foot. If this was not visible, I looked for other evidence of the subject’s passing such as a disturbance, a compressed area, color change or unnatural marks or lines. By doing this, I was able to put together a continuous line and route of travel from the site of the incident to the place where the subject was located.”

A TRACK CAN HIDE IN THE SHADOWS…

A fundamental principle in Tracking is the correct use of light, both natural and man-made light (flashlight). There is a visual exercise that points this out very well. A track is put down in dirt, and this track is marked by a circle around it. People will then circle the marked track at various distances OBSERVING and DETECTING what happens to the appearance of the track. The track will appear and it will disappear as people walk the circle. At one point on the circle walk, the track will shine up, as Ab Taylor put it, “like a diamond in a goat’s butt.” A DEDUCTION is then made that proper light angle is important (view into sunlight). Making the best use of light can many times find the track that hides in the shadows. This learning exercise can be applied to the proper use of a flash light. A long low beam of light may reveal the lines, shadows and shine of a track.

In 1981 US Border Patrol Agent, Ab Taylor, was called in to track down a lost 9-year-old child, Jimmy Beveridge. There were about 400 searchers on the scene. Agent Taylor got on Jimmy’s trail. Taylor found the child three days later. Jimmy had died of exposure. A major factor that delayed the finding of Jimmy was that he kept moving. This event had an impact on Agent Taylor. He did not want this situation to ever happen again. He got with a writer and other like-minded people, and the Ab Taylor HUG A TREE Program came to be. This program was adopted by the National Search and Rescue Association. It is an educational program that teaches people, especially children, how to not get lost, but if you do:

Stay Put (hug something), Survive and Signal.

A suggested Hug-A-Tree kit would consist of:
• A tin foil impression that shows the size, type and patterns of footgear so Trackers can know exactly what they are tracking
• A compass, whistle and chemlight for signaling
• A small pocket poncho or trash bag with head hole cut out for survival in the elements.

The HUG-A-TREE Program and the deployment of good Man-Trackers has saved many lives.

TRACKS TELL A STORY…

Information was received that there might be a double homicide at an abandoned ranch house which was on the US and Canadian Border. An investigation team was put together, and my position was that of human tracker. Two marks on the linoleum floor of the dwelling led us to the cellar where evidence of freshly over turned dirt was found. Digging revealed two bodies, both victims of gunshot wounds. This murder was done over a week earlier. There had been a snow storm through the area and the chances were nil of finding any track evidence. However, a circle cut was made of the area, and a set of tracks was found in a sheltered area. The ground was dense and the tracks held up very well and very distinct.

A deduction was made that these tracks belonged to the murder suspects. Note was taken of the type and size of the foot gear as well as the factors of stride, straddle, pitch and pressure in and release out of both suspects. Detection and deductive reasoning put forth the following: one suspect wore a very distinct western riding boot, the size was large, and he had a long stride and a narrow straddle, and his pitch was straight ahead. A mimic of his walk suggested he was bow legged. All the factors suggested that this was a tall, long-legged cowboy.

The other suspect wore a western walking boot which was small, and his stride was short – a short person. This suspect had a distinct toed in pitch, a pitch that is not uncommon with American Indians of the area. A suggested profile was that this could be a “Lone Ranger and Tonto” team, or a “Mutt and Jeff” type team. Other things considered were that the pair did ranch work and they lived a rural western life style. This evidence set a direction for further investigation. Several law enforcement departments and agencies as well as local citizens developed a case against the murderers. They were found, and both were convicted and sentenced to life terms in the Montana State Penitentiary.

Lt Col H. John Poole is a combat veteran who served in the USMC for 28 years. He was both a Non-Com and a Commissioned Officer. His view point about the value of Tracking and Signcutting is worthy of some attention. He noted “The requisite attention to detail becomes automatically available to every school trained tracker.” He added, if US military commanders were really interested in saving the lives of their subordinates, they would provide them with better observation skills, thus….Tracking Training!

In learning and practicing the business of Tracking and Signcutting, certain skills are exercised:
• High alertness to the situation you are in and an extreme awareness of the surroundings
• Keen attention to details
• Sharpening of Observation, Detection and Deduction skills.

Skills such as these can be applied to everything we do.

WHY TRACKING?.........

As observed by Sherlock Holmes in “The Advent of the Black Peter,” 1903

“I have investigated many crimes, but, I have never yet seen one which was committed by a flying creature. As long as the criminal remains upon two legs so long must there be some indentation, some abrasion, some trifling displacement which can be detected by the scientific searcher.”

Holmes also observed that “there is no branch of detective science which is so important and so much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps.”

More to follow….

Just came across this picture and thought some of you would enjoy seeing it.
This is the handshake agreement between the US Marshal Service Special Operations Group (SOG) unit and US Border Patrol. The SOG unit agreed to provide special operations training to a newly formed unit within the Border Patrol called BORTAC. Pictured are four Border Patrol Agents and the Commander of the US Marshal Service SOG.
At BORTAC I, all instruction was provided by SOG. In BORTAC II and III, some of us from BORTAC I also provided instruction. Then in BORTAC IV, all instruction was provided by BORTAC and Border Patrol agents at a site in the Bears Paw Mountains near Havre, Montana, with very challenging weather and terrain.