Multiple state and local agencies are continuing their search for a man missing since early Saturday in the wilderness of Rabun County.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division is assisting with that search, said Maj. Stephen Adams.
“We were notified Saturday that he was missing,” Adams told AccessWDUN on Tuesday. “He was training bear dogs on U.S. Forest Service property, which is legal. It’s a legal activity.”
Adams said Rabun County Search and Rescue (SAR), Rabun County Emergency Medical Services, Rabun County Sheriff’s Office, Habersham SAR, Stephens County SAR and others have responded, along with Georgia DNR to assist in the search.
“We are continuing the search, working with all of those agencies looking for him, but it’s a very remote area and it’s also very rugged,” Adams said. “The terrain is very steep and thick. The last contact was approximately 2 a.m. Saturday with this individual.”
Adams said the missing person is a 37-year-old white male with possible health issues.
Some of the dogs the individual was training have been found.
“The dogs were located at a tree with a bear yesterday [Monday],” Adams said. “The bear was in a tree and the dogs were there. Some DNR personnel, probably along with some others, found the two dogs. I think there’s still one that’s missing.”
Adams explained that during training, dogs pick up the scent of a bear, track it and tree it, then are praised by the owner/trainer.
“During training, they don’t harvest the bear or anything,” Adams said. “They just leash the dogs and lead them away.”
Searchers have used a variety of methods in their attempts to locate the missing man.
“We’ve used aviation, K-9s, ground search – we’ve done the typical stuff, but there’s been some time and there’s no clear direction of travel from the vehicle, which is located in the Burrells Ford area of Rabun County, on the side of a paved road,” Adams said. “No clear direction of travel, so at this point it’s just a ground search effort, and aviation has not found anything. Part of the reason for that is it’s very thick and the canopy with all the leaves up there is just really hard to see down in that canopy.”
