By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office will soon
have equipment on hand to aid in the hunt for fleeing suspects
and help find climbers and hikers lost on Mount Hood.
The law enforcement agency has been awarded
$11,794 from the Department of Homeland Security to pay for an
Advanced Thermal Imager and training on its uses.
The equipment will allow Sheriff Joe Wampler and
his deputies to gain a reliable heat picture in forest settings
and other rugged terrain.
Chief Deputy Jerry Brown said the imager can
pick up the outline of a human body from the ground or air. He
said the electronic assistance will be welcomed in the agency
that performs an average of 30 rescues on land each year and 150
along area waterways.
“The receipt of this equipment will assist us in
locating suspects who attempt to get away, perpetrators of
crimes who try to hide in brushy areas and accident victims or
people lost in wilderness areas,” said Brown.
He said the complete roster of applications for
the imager would be explained during the training exercise later
this winter.
The sheriff office was one of the police, fire
and emergency management agencies in Oregon to split $350,000 in
Homeland Security grant funds.
