As a result, the search wasn’t an easy task. The terrain was rugged and the forest was dense. They drained beaver dams and crawled through the undergrowth on their hands and knees. Searchers combed creek bottoms, mountain ridges, and mine shafts. As Duke picked up a scent, he followed it for just a short distance before losing it. Duke’s strong point was in finding missing persons and he had successfully located 37 lost persons during his career as a search dog. A trained search dog named Duke and his handler were also called in to assist in the search.
The search party was assisted by helicopters with heat-sensing devices, divers and hundreds of volunteers who combed through the area. Early on in the search, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office requested help from the Lewis and Clark Search and Rescue teams.