Tracking Step by Step...

Joel Hardin Professional Tracking Services 

JHPTS Sign Cutters  by Joel Hardin

Robert "Bob" Brady Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2004

Bob has been a faithful participant of the Joel Hardin training program since 1992. Bob has held numerous officer positions, and is a senior member of Snohomish County SAR, and is the tracking trainer for that group. With experience in hundreds of missions in numerous realms, he regularly responds to tracking criminal investigations and wanted person searches and has utilized his experiences in helping teach each branch of the JHPTS program to agencies across the country.
Bob is a 6 year veteran of the U.S. Army and joined he Boeing Company in 1988 as a electronics technician testing systems of the 747, 767 & 777, while cross training as a mechanic, electrician, oxygen, water and hydraulics systems specialist. Bob has also been assigned to aircraft on ground (AOG) operations, and as a skills process instructor for new hires, and several years as a production manager. His current assignment is as a Lean Practitioner/Consultant.

Bob participates with the JHPTS training program as often as possible during the year as an instructor, consultant, and special advisor, traveling throughout the United States and to foreign countries as a member of JHPT-International. Bob is a respected professional tracking advisor to 1st Special Response Group. He has traveled as a team member to foreign ports and places to effect successful missions. Bob explores other major tracking programs available in the U.S. in a continuing effort to be fully informed and knowledgeable of possible techniques and practices to increase his personal and professional knowledge and skill.

Marvin Pillers Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2005

Marvin will tell you that we first met in 1979 during a State SAR conference being held at Ellensburg, Washington.  I was doing a tracking segment presentation to acquaint SAR responders with the use of tracking as a SAR resource.  Marv came to that short introduction, saw the application possibilities in SAR and has followed our tracking program ever since.
 
Marv wears many hats.  His volunteer work includes Captain and Training Officer for the Palouse Fire Department and EMT with the local EMS unit in Palouse, WA, in Whitman County. Marv is also a SAR Deputy and SAR Coordinator for Latah County in Idaho.  First Responder to Marv means that regardless of the emergency or crises you always get there first!  Marv’s primary job is working for the Garfield and Palouse school districts, where he is the Technology Coordinator and Network Administrator and has responsibility for all technology functions in both districts. For six years, in addition to his primary job with technology, he also served as the supervisor of the transportation department, and continues to serve as the district's bus driver trainer and fills in as a substitute bus driver when necessary.

Marvin is the leader of the Idaho State Trackers Association (previously North Idaho Trackers).  This group grew out of the association in the early 1980’s with Pacific Northwest Trackers and has gone forward continually improving and adapting to the developing of professional tracker response.  Marv's relationship with Latah County Sheriff’s office across the line in Idaho has helped promote tracking as an early response resource in local SAR opportunities. 
 
Marv has developed his own style of training and presentation of our program and with such has recruited numerous new trackers that have gone on and recruited others.  Marv is a trainer with confidence and experience.  He relates well with everyone and works both as primary search manager in the command post and the field coordinator position when not actually doing the tracking himself. 
 
Marv’s vast in-depth experience has prepared him well and in 2005 he was certified as a Sign Cutter in the JHPTS program.  He continues to be active in all public emergency services and a primary figure for SAR and law enforcement incidents involving tracking in the region of north central Idaho.

William "Bill" Balfrey Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2005

Bill, as he is commonly known by his friends and foes alike, is a retired psychology and assorted other topics professor from the College of the Siskiyou at Weed, California.  Bill arranged for the old Universal Training Systems group to come to the college at Weed and present a basic tracking course in about 1978.   Those were the days before we had to deal with paperwork, student tuition, evaluations, certifications, etc.  That was when tracking was fun, some might say, because tracking was practically all we did at the course.  Oh, of course I got up and talked until everyone got bored or went to sleep, that is all except Bill.

Bill was an interesting study.  He liked tracking that was for sure.  He was kind of a mountain man really and just taught psychology to pay the bills and pass the time until he could lead the mules back into the mountains.  Yes, he had mules and packed and rode a mule.  Bill walked slow and talked slow, thinking before he spoke and when he talked, he was more interesting to listen to than I was.  That first tracking course was a success and Bill was hooked on the methodology that we presented.  It was, in fact, to be the first of nearly twenty years of annual courses at College of the Siskiyou.

Bill struggled to learn and know every facet of tracking.  He would spend hours studying a track, and if one eluded him, he was back there until it gave up and let itself be found.  Bill began to participate with the local Siskiyou SAR team and worked with the Sheriff’s office on numerous cases of missing persons and/or crime scenes.  Bill was a good tracking trainer and traveled to courses both as a student and an Assistant Instructor.  Bill Balfrey was given the title and certification as a Sign Cutter in 2005.  Bill was active this past weekend working with another Sign Cutter and other JHPTS trainers in presentation of the tracking program to combined county SAR units in Southern Oregon.

The mules that circle the corral at Bill’s house and wait his coming to feed and water stand each day and watch Bill slowly head down across the area, examining the ground surfaces to see which critters have visited during the night or afternoon.  Cutting sign gets into the blood and becomes a natural habit beyond the consciousness of the Sign Cutter himself, seeing and knowing, aging and understanding.  Want to know something of depth regarding tracking, ask Bill.

Ken Laidlaw Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2005

Some of you may know Ken Laidlaw from other than our tracking program.  Ken is a recognized wilderness and SAR specialist in several disciplines.  He regularly is a presenter at various SAR conferences and expositions.  Ken was also a cop.  He was a seasonal police officer with the East Bay Regional Park District, across the bay from San Francisco, for 25 years.

He became very familiar with the back country in several of their parks.  He also retired as an administrator for the Berkeley Unified School District.

I first met Ken in an Ab Taylor tracking class in the early 1980’s.  He sat quietly in a back row, said nearly nothing and held the same facial expression for the two days of the course.  I couldn’t tell if he was interested, bored, pouting, or what.  He took part in the field training and studied each track in detail.  Obviously Ken was a solitary individual that spent nearly all waking moments engaged in one occupation or another and/or studying one or more of the wilderness and SAR disciplines that he was interested in.

In later years, much after I had left the southern border and was responding with Border Patrol permission to requests to provide tracking training in various areas I met Ken in another course.  We talked some, though talking to Ken is mostly a one-sided affair with lots of silence unless you have something to say.  Ken would talk endlessly about one or another of the disciplines that he was either working on or had mastered.  But, just making conversation wasn’t his bag.  Ken studied tracking, and with his diverse background and interests he full well appreciated how, when, and where tracking was important.

Ken was unusual even among the police officers with whom he worked.  However a good part of that, being unusual, was that he knew how to do things the other officers most often only thought about.  They called him frequently to find people in the parks.  Some that needed to be found weren’t lost, just using the park lands for growing marijuana.  Or, living in one of the canyons or forests, and littering, panhandling, or outright assaulting park patrons.  Ken became a specialist in locating and arresting these persons and many other violators through the use of tracking.

Ken traveled to courses throughout the country and would show up at a course in some of the most unusual locations, from Pennsylvania to Montana, Vancouver Island to San Diego.  He studied, learned, and became a good trainer to those interested in actually learning and developing tracking skills.  His tracking reports are well done.  Ken is well versed in SAR, law enforcement, and fire management systems and has mastered the organization and documentation for the Incident Command System.  Ken has a national reputation in cave rescue and technical rope rescue.  He has been an active member of the Alameda County Sheriff’s SAR group for twenty-five years and is a frequent responder.

Ken has been a loyal and trusted supporter of this program for almost thirty years and was awarded the Sign Cutter designation and certification in 2005.

Preston "Pres" Funkhouser Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2008

Congratulations to Preston “Pres” Funkhouser. During the “Train the Trainer” event this past weekend (January 2008), the program blessed Pres with the coveted Sign Cutter certification. Pres is action oriented and a “get it done” guy. He is a no-nonsense serious tracker and tracking trainer who has traveled extensively during the past ten years with and for this program. He has tracked crime scenes investigations and missing person searches. And, he has engaged in military tracking training. Pres brings to this certification a vast amount of experience from all tracking arenas; but, most importantly, he is one who will not back away from or hesitate regarding any issue or situation. He always can make it work somehow.

The modern world demands that our program designate those with the unique ability to resolve and find success with all types of missions as Sign Cutters. In past times, Sign Cutters were individuals whose single minded purpose was the pursuit of one or two individuals to wherever they might be found regardless of time or destination. Times have changed significantly and the needs and responses today that call for Sign Cutters are as varied as life itself. There is little relationship to the Sign Cutters of the past other than the deep devotion to the unique knowledge and application of tracking skill.

Pres is retired military intelligence and has the experience of having been a military attaché, combat, and Special Forces Commander. He knows how to handle people and how to manage time and energy for success. He has been an active tracker with this program for fifteen years and is an active member of SAR responding to all types of missions, managing most.

We look forward to working with Pres in this new position and to his finding new ways to help the trackers and this program.

Dick Wilker Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2009

Dick Wilker first met Joel Hardin along with Ab Taylor at a tracking class in Buckley, WA in 1983.  The course was conducted for the then newly formed Pacific Northwest Trackers Association.  Dick was instrumental in the transition of Pacific Northwest Trackers from a hobby tracking club to a fully functioning search and rescue unit specializing in tracking for King County, WA.  During the following years Dick has continued to pursue his passion for tracking, participating in lost person searches and remaining an active member of Northwest Trackers for over 25 years.  He is currently the Training Director, Membership Chairman and Treasurer for the group.

As his experience and confidence has increased, his role as a tracker has expanded from lost person searches to include crime scene investigations.   He has attended several crime scenes for King County including murder and arson cases.  His experience includes examination of both indoor and outdoor scenes for footprint evidence regarding subject movement/activities.  He has also developed an unexpected liking for writing reports for inclusion to the case files.   He has been a part of the JHPTS instructor staff for many years, traveling throughout the region to assist with classes and especially enjoys working with new students to help them understand what they are seeing.

Dick is an Engineer for the Kenworth Truck Company has been with Kenworth for over 30 years and has worked in virtually every area of the truck design process.  He is currently assigned as a Liaison Engineer where he enjoys the challenge of solving truck-down situations as well as dealing with customer, factory and warranty issues.

Kathy Decker Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2009

Kathy joined the King County (Washington) Sheriff’s Department as a Deputy in 1985. She rose to the rank of Detective and has over 13 years experience working in the King County Sheriff’s Major Crime Unit, where she specialized in Homicide investigation. Kathy holds a BA degree in Criminal Justice from Washington State University.

Kathy has investigated and worked many crime scenes, providing tracking expertise and examination. As a result of her work on crime scenes she has testified as an expert witness, presenting tracking evidence.

Currently Kathy is King County’s SAR Coordinator, managing over 600 SAR volunteers for the King County Sheriff’s Department. She has been associated with the Joel Hardin tracking program since 1998, regularly providing introductory tracker training to law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office. Kathy has traveled internationally as a member of Joel Hardin Professional Trackers International the division of JHPTS that responds internationally to official SAR and investigative tracking requests.

Kathy has also provided forensic photo analysis and testimony, based solely on crime scene photographs. She provides instruction to law enforcement on the identification and processing of outdoor crime scenes.
Kathy's background in criminal investigations and her experience in managing and coordinating have also been used on missing person cases.

Sharon Ward Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2009

Sharon has been a member of the Joel Hardin tracking program since 1999. In addition to her membership in JHPTS, she serves as a Senior Coordinator for Cowlitz County Search and Rescue and as the Training Officer for Pacific Crest Search Dogs. Both organizations are Washington State search and rescue teams.

Sharon is a founder and a director of the Washington State Trackers Association, an association of certified JHPTS trackers who respond to missing person searches and crime scene investigations, upon request by state or federal agencies. Sharon has traveled internationally as an operational member of Joel Hardin Professional Trackers International a division of JHPTS that responds internationally to official SAR and tracking investigation requests.

In her position as an instructor for JHPTS, Sharon teaches SAR and LE tracking, and has trained US Special Forces units tracking techniques, especially with regard to using canines and trackers together in the field. Sharon is an attorney by trade, who, for the last 25 years, has specialized in legal issues facing non-profit organizations. She regularly lectures at SAR conferences and to search and rescue groups about managing legal risks and avoiding legal liability.

Sharon is a tracker and a canine handler. She uses both resources, as appropriate, simultaneously in the field to find missing persons and to assist law enforcement with crime scene evidence. She regularly serves as an instructor for JHPTS, especially with regard to SAR Law and with working canines and trackers together for optimal efficiency and success.

Dave Hake Awarded JHPTS "Sign Cutter" Certification - 2009

David Hake has been in Search and Rescue for over 12 years with Larimer County Search and Rescue (LCSAR) in Fort Collins, CO.  He is a Search Manager, Rescue rated and past Rescue Leader, Snow rated and past Snow Rescue Leader, Tracking Team Leader and Tracking instructor with LCSAR.  He was one of five trackers who founded Rocky Mountain Trackers (RMT) in 2005 to help promote tracking and dispatch trackers around the region.  He’s currently the Field Coordinator and a Tracking Team Leader for RMT.  He has completed a 48 hour Evidence Specialist training through Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.  He started his Step-by-Step tracking training with Joel in 1999 and has continued to build and promote tracking as a valuable resource ever since.  He’s assisted with tracking classes for Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement and Military around the country for JHPTS and loves to help bring new trackers into this great family.

To attempt to support his passion for tracking, he owns his own Electrical Contractor business (Daveco) and has been in the electrical field for over 30 years.  He also has an endless supply of emotional support from his wife Shannon.