The thought of searching for a lost child after a backpacking, camping or hiking trip is agonizing, to say the least. But part of managing risk is confronting the potential problem and taking steps to control the outcome if it does happen. One step that you can proactively take to increase the probability that a lost child will be found is to keep an accurate record of the pattern on the sole of your child's hiking boots.
Why Keep a Record of Your Child's Boot Print?
When somebody gets lost, search teams will work to define a search area. The larger the search area, the more resources and time it will likely take to find the missing person in that area. It is always advantageous to reduce the size of the search area. Sometimes that can be done when searchers in the field find clues such as footprints that indicate a direction of travel.
In an ideal situation, the search team will have two things: a good set of footprints and a high degree of confidence that the footprints belong to the missing person. You can proactively help with the second part by creating and maintaining an accurate record of the sole of your children's hiking boots. Here's how.
How To Create a Record of Your Child's Boot Print
Take a strip of aluminum foil and place it on the ground. We found that carpet provides a great surface. Have your child (wearing their hiking boots) step onto the foil. Take the impression (right and left foot) and place it in a safe place. We keep ours in the glove compartment of our car.
If for some reason you do become separated from your child and a search is initiated, this "signature" of your child's boot print is a valuable piece of information that you can provide. During a search, the print can be copied and quickly distributed to all of the field teams. Searchers can use it to differentiate the important footprints along a trail from "noise". It may even be used to validate a print found in the field, resulting in a smaller and more focused search area .
Parents who hike with their children should take this simple, thirty second step each time their child gets a new set of hiking footwear. Odds are you will never need this information, but if you do you will be very glad that you have it.