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Quad Cities Missing Persons Network spends hours in the woods training for certification

The Quad Cities Missing Persons Network trained Saturday and Sunday with representatives from the Illinois Search and Rescue Council, to get certified in Ground...

The Quad Cities Missing Persons Network trained Saturday and Sunday with representatives from the Illinois Search and Rescue Council, to get certified in Ground Search and Rescue (G-STAR).

A group of about 20 volunteers met Saturday morning to learn about techniques and tools they will use in the field when searching for a missing person. Then they took those skills to Blackhawk State Park all Saturday and Sunday to train in the field.

"I'm not a big fan of sweating or the woods, but I just felt the urge to be a part of something and being able to help," said Kendahl Goering, whose friend was found dead after disappearing when she was a young girl. "I wanted to come here and push myself out of my comfort zone to help somebody else."

"Searching isn't a simple thing, there's a lot to it," said Goering. "It takes quite a bit of effort and stamina to be able to do what these people do."

The Quad Cities Missing Persons Network was created in 2013 by Dennis Harker, when his son disappeared that September. He was last seen leaving a Moline nightclub and his body was found three days later near Buffalo Shores.

A few months later, December 2013, Carrie Olson went missing. Olson's family immediately reached out to Harker and the network for help.

"We decided at that point, people are struggling trying to deal with the loss of a loved one who they couldn't find. We need to use what we've learned, and apply that, and be a resource to other people in the community," said Harker. "When they asked for help, I said I have to pay this forward, I'm obligated."

Now, nearly two years later, the Quad Cities Missing Persons Network has a Facebook Page with over 15,000 followers and countless members who attend monthly meetings.

The group of volunteers on Saturday and Sunday who trained for their G-STAR certification needed to wear long pants, long sleeve shirts, boots, and long socks to avoid poison ivy and mosquitoes while training in the woods.

"They're here for very personal reasons and knowing what these people have gone through in their own lives, in their own personal grief, that they're now trying to turn around and help other people, it's really rewarding to take something like that, that's awful and horrible, and feel good about ourselves and honor the loved ones that went missing," said Harker.

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