Local rescue team joins search

Times Reporter       

 

On March 22 residents of Oso, Washington were enjoying their Saturday when the biggest natural disaster in the community’s history struck. A deadly landslide crossed the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, killed dozens of people and essentially wiped out the community. 

As of April 22, one month since the slide, the death toll was at 41 people. The missing list is down to only two more people thanks to the efforts of everyone who has been searching relentlessly since the impact, 

One of those rescuers is Strathmore resident Marijke Barnson and her dog Java, a Dutch Shepherd. Barnson received the call on March 30 that she was being deployed to Oso. Java is a cadaver rescue dog that is also certified to do cadaver water searches. 

Barnson said she was deployed through Idaho Search and Rescue along with Jim Nyquist and Cori Wolff from Cutting Edge Canine in Billings, Montana.

Upon arrival, after being briefed, she and Java searched the afternoon of April 2, and the morning of April 3 before heading home again. 

“It’s the first time I have actually searched in a disaster area,” said Barnson.

“It’s different in how they had to conduct the search there. Basically you’re working in an area while excavation equipment is working. There are lots of other people in your area that you are searching. It’s very chaotic, yet he (Java) seemed to be fine with that, he seemed to be happy to be working. 

“One thing they did there which kind of struck me was when they do recover remains they blow a horn and everybody stops working and takes their helmets off, and you don’t resume working until they blow the horn again which is after the chaplain has come in and they have actually recovered the remains.”

It was very impactful, and respectful way to honour those lost to the slide, but it did present some challenges because the constant stop and go is quite different from the controlled training Java is used to. 

The debris field they were searching in is approximately one square mile, and each time a search would finish, the searcher and their dog would have to go to the decontamination unit, followed by a vet check for the dog.  

“You would go in and you brief in the morning and they basically split you up into teams, which dogs they are going to use for the morning shift and which dogs for the afternoon shift,” said Barnson.

“The second day there was only four of us deployed on the water, so there were only four of us that had certification to search the water.”

All of the countless hours of training, and water training have paid off, but you can’t train for every situation. For example, in Washington they were using john boats for the water search, which were ideal for searching with dogs but they were powered by two firemen with oars and that was a little bit of a challenge because Java would see the oar (think stick) and think it was time to play. 

“He went to work, but at first it was like ‘oh my God, I’m going to have so much fun’,” said Barnson. 

Java stayed focused for the most part, doing what he needed to do.

“The devastation is unimaginable and your heart goes out to the victims and their families, however, when you’re searching you are focused on the task at hand.  On the drive home is when the full impact really hit me.  It’s very sad,” said Barnson. 

She can’t even imagine what the survivors and the impacted families are going through. Barnson said there is so much destruction everywhere, but then you will see something unscathed. 

Being a civilian training a cadaver dog can be tough, and costly, but thanks to continuous support from family and friends Barnson has been able to help make a difference. 

“I would like to thank my daughter Erica for always supporting me, and training with me and understanding what we do,” said Barnson. 

Without the support of the Satink family, Strathmore’s fire chief coworkers and Crowther Memorial Junior High staff, it would be harder for Barnson to pursue her passion of helping bring closure to families, which is why she first began training Java. They have recently joined a recovery team out of Vancouver, Legacy Water Search and Recovery Team, and hope that in the event of a drowning, she and Java will be able to bring closure to the families.