The Natural Investigative Skills re-visited - Article 2 in a 4-part series - Tracking

 ‘…The father, however, did not despair, and after some trouble secured the services of two or three aborigines, whose sharp eyes soon picked up the tracks the white men were now unable to follow.   They pointed out where the children had slept, where they had stumbled along in the dark, and where an attempt to carry the youngest child had failed, the bearer being too weak to rise with the burden;’

The italic piece above is an excerpt from the Argus Newspaper, Melbourne reporting on the famous case of three Duff children lost in rugged bush country in North Western Victoria in August 1864.  The three children were recovered soon after bringing in aboriginal trackers; they had spent nine days in the bush without food and water.

The point above is that it was the indigenous ancient skills of the native trackers that led the searchers to finding these children, skills almost totally lost, set aside, obliterated along with the culture of those that carried it.

In Australia, the use of trackers in search and rescue operations, not just in missing person cases, but also in fugitive cases has almost faded into history.  Instead, there is a reliance on mobile phone tracking triangulation from telecommunications towers, or perhaps thermal imaging for body heat conducted by helicopter, each with varying degrees of success. 

However, traditional ground tracking is a rarity, and when considered is often brought in when the last known position or LKP of the target, or missing person has been contaminated by squadrons of searchers and vehicles.

In some other countries, especially the U.S it is somewhat different, with the utilising of skilled qualified trackers regularly used in both missing person and fugitive cases. 

The importance of a Tracker being one of the first at the scene of a Missing Persons case is crucial, they can work in an uncontaminated scene to potentially locate sign and obtain a Direction of Travel (DoT) to allow the Search and Rescue Commander or investigators to focus and deploy resources accordingly. Once the Tracker has gained a DoT, the vehicle sight or scene can be secured for forensic processing.

This must happen immediately and prior to other searchers being deployed into the search area to minimise contamination. This can easily be achieved by having a police officer present to mark any evidence on the way in. A visual inspection of the vehicle should be conducted through the front windscreen to not disturb or contaminate the ground where people would step out of the vehicle.

A tracker is not just a person that follows footprints, they are a storyteller. To be able to read the language embedded in the footprint or sign is a great skill. Each of these put together a sequence for law enforcement and provide an important chapter in their investigation.

Trackers are best employed into the search from the very beginning. With this procedure in place, you can use the tracker to obtain the information from the scene and commence working away from the vehicle or Last Known Location.

For example, when a missing person’s vehicle is located and they are not with the vehicle, a tracker can locate details that can provide investigators with the probable demeanour of the person or persons that last exited the vehicle. That first step or fall from the vehicle leaves sign or spoor on the ground, from there the tracker can follow up on the track and start to compile the pages and chapters to the story.

In some cases, this can provide investigators with enough information to rule in or rule out potential homicide. Was the missing person running from the vehicle? Was there more than one set of tracks? Was there another vehicle that stopped and turned around nearby, possibly a pickup vehicle? Were branches broken in a scramble through the bush? Did the person exit the driver’s side then go to the rear door or boot to collect something like a backpack for the day’s activities? All these indicators can be made in the initial stages prior to other procedures taking place.

By sign cutting a tracker can also be utilised to eliminate areas to be searched. If good track traps are present at the scene they can reduce an area down significantly. If the surrounds of a dam or water way are soft and boggy a tracker can establish the absence of tracks and therefore eliminate the possibility of the missing person entering the water by foot, thus saving time and resources for divers to search.

Since becoming a Tracker, Rick Heaton^[i] has had success in several missing persons cases in Australia and has provided State police with evidence as to probable events that occurred in each case.

On a recent search for a missing person, it was 5 weeks after they had been reported missing. Upon arriving at the location, he began sign cutting from where their vehicle was located. He picked up the tracks of what he determined to be the police officers that attended the search. 2 tracks of Lug and Cleat style boots, walking in parallel. He then located a single track of Jogger style tread. He then tracked these for 680m before they terminated at a point and did not return.

From the measurements of the individual print, he was able to determine an approximate height of the person, from the stride length he was able to determine the gait of the person, and from the location of the last print he was able to determine that they never returned.

This provided police with photographic evidence and information, that the person who created the track did not return and is “probable” to have been the last tracks made by the missing person. The data analysed from the tracks was enough to determine the approximate height of the person, the type of footwear the person was wearing, the stride length showed the demeanour of the person, the termination of the tracks at a point showed probable intent of the person.

On a Long-Term Missing Person case (LTMP), who had been missing for 6 months. Neither they nor their vehicle had been located. Rick drove tracks in possible areas the missing person may have gone based on liaison with the family, searching for vehicle tracks that left the track but did not return.

Rick had located a set of vehicle tracks that were similar in tyre characteristics and tracked them into the bush. He located the missing man’s vehicle at the end of these tracks, parked and locked.

After weeks of searching the area around the vehicle Rick located a trail of boot prints. At this point these prints were now 8 months old, fossilised in the desert and complete with fine detail of the tread pattern of the sole. The age of these was determined by the growth of weeds that had started growing in the print. The size of these prints matched the size of the missing person, the stride and composition of the prints told the story that the person was short in stature, possible walking at night or low light, multiple dwell points in which they stood with both feet together could tell of fatigue, doubt or indecision or injury. One of the dwell points was a change of direction, which set off back down the hill. Rick was able to detect where the person tripped on a small bush, which supports the idea of walking in low light or with fatigue. This is the last direction of travel Rick has of this person.

As an independent searcher, Rick is currently researching Long Term Missing Persons cases.

He works typically on lost person behaviour combined with the reasons as to why that person was there in the first place. Were they out on a hike? Were they going prospecting? Was their vehicle located at a trailhead, but they weren’t interested in Hiking? Were they on an evening walk but suffering from dementia?

He breaks down a search into stages. The first being ‘What were they there to do?’

In this stage he considers likely scenarios as to what may have happened whilst conducting the activity they were there for, such as medical episodes, accidents like slips, trips or falls, digression from activity, third party involvement.

The second stage is based on lost person behaviour. Whilst conducting their activity, where are the likely locations they could become disorientated and lost? Track junctions, gradual slopes, and thick vegetation. Identifying any boundaries such as, rivers, cliffs, fences, and roads. Hasty lines of transit or paths of least resistance such as game trails, trails, vegetation change, creek beds, tracks are also identified.

In any typical search a tracker can identify and search ‘Track Traps’ to confirm or deny a direction of travel. A ‘Track Trap’ can be defined as a section of ground or area that a person will leave positive spoor if transited through. A track trap could be a dirt road where the gutter on the sides doesn’t get disturbed by vehicles, and tracks can be located to determine if a person has crossed the road. They could also be muddy sections of hiking trails. Most hiking trails are goat tracks and single lane, if a tracker can identify a long enough track trap, they can confirm that a person or no persons have gone past this point or not, and that the SAR Commander can redirect assets accordingly. It must be noted that if searching for a missing person that may be mobile, track traps can be made and checked each day. These can be considered part of a “Containment Search”.

In an environment where there is cell coverage, a portable CCTV Camera with 4g capabilities can be used to create a track trap, similar to the ANPR System on our roads. The placement of these cameras is best suited to locations that the person is likely to exit the search box.

The use of survival boxes at these points is also a consideration for SAR Operations.

In the training Rick completed in the US, some tactical tracking at night was conducted under night vision, more of a familiarisation to identify the strengths and weaknesses.

When being tactical isn’t a requirement, tracking at night can be just as effective. The most effective times to track is when the light source is at the lowest, typically the sun. At night Rick uses a wide beam torch on a hiking pole to create a light source that he can manipulate to the angle that is the best.

Rick believes that the Australian Police and SAR community should focus on enhancing their capability with trackers. In current operations, most trackers come from the Tactical Groups in state police. This is taking away vital crime fighting assets from their primary role. He said, “the use of Aboriginal Trackers can be beneficial, but there aren’t enough of them”.  Interestingly studies amongst the Australian Aborigines (especially children) in remote areas revealed superior visual acuity, or far greater ability, especially at long distance vision than Europeans^[ii].

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Child tracks from the author’s memoirs

I recall back in the 1990’s, when I was in charge of a search for a little 3-year-old boy who went missing late one afternoon from a campsite in the Mount Disappointment State Forest in Victoria, Australia. The light was quickly fading by the time we had search resources on site, and one of the first things we did was to eliminate the little creek that was running through the campsite.

Doing a calculation of the terrain time and distance, I quickly put out perimeter containment patrols, to slowly watch the logging track that boxed in the valley we were in, simultaneously I had other singular vehicles moving at snail pace up the ridge tracks leading out of the valley, windows down looking for footprints in the powder dust on the sides of the tracks.

Whilst all of this was going on we were painstakingly searching the campsite surrounds, in the dark for the little boy, and comforting his very worried parents.

A short while into the search, a very senior police officer arrived on scene, ostensibly to monitor the situation without interfering.  However, he tried to take over the search, insisting that I pull in all of my outlying resources, to intensify the search within the camp confines.  His logic was on the basis that missing small children are always found within three hundred metres of where they were last seen.

I verbally pretended to comply with my Senior Officer but continued doing what I had started.  Within an hour I received a radio call from a patrol on a ridge track about a kilometre and a half uphill from the camping ground, they had found a child’s footprint neatly imprinted in the bulldust on the side of the track, and a few metres further on they had found what appeared to be human faeces and another footprint.  I instructed them to cover and preserve everything and to follow the direction of the tracks.

It soon started to drizzle rain and the temperature was dropping.  Luckily within an hour the patrol on the ridge track found the little boy lying fast asleep in the rain speckled dust on the side of the track.  He was about three kilometres uphill from the campsite, and he had just kept walking until he had run out of steam exhausted and laid down to sleep.

Incidentally, we found out later that the little boy had seen the police helicopter flying overhead a number of times, with its lights searching and flashing, but each time he had hid because he thought it was monsters.

(Article written by Valentine Smith APM www.missinginaustralia.com.au 19 February 2026)

^[i] Tactical Tracker Training School LLC (TTTS) https://tacticaltrackertraining.com

Rick Heaton – is a Tactical Tracker with Missing Persons Australia.

He served in the Australian Army in the Royal Australian Artillery for over 10yrs, primarily employed in Forward Observation Teams. In this role he specialised in Communications, Intelligence gathering, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance.

Post Army, Rick joined the State Emergency Service in Queensland where he became a trainer in Land SAR Operations, participating and Leading Teams in Missing Persons searches.

In 2024 – 25, Rick travelled to the US to participate in Tactical Man Tracking for Law Enforcement courses run by the Tactical Tracker Training School in North Carolina (TTTS). He graduated all 3 levels and was offered and accepted a role as Instructor with the school. TTTS is the ultimate tactical tracking school, utilising methods ranging from those used by Apache warrior scouts, and later Rhodesian Selous Scouts, and SAS.

^[ii] Racial Variations in Vision. Hugh R. Taylor American Journal of Epidemiology Volume 113, Issue 1, Jan. 1981.