Mr. Miller,
I want to commend Dave Rader of your Ohio Chapter for his work and that of his team on Thursday January 25, 2018.
On January 14, 2018 at 4am Goshen Township Officers were dispatched to an auto theft in-progress. An officer located the vehicle and a pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended after several miles and the suspect was taken into custody and then to jail. Later that same morning, a second victim in the same neighborhood reported his loaded pistol stolen from his unlocked car. An officer interviewed the suspect who denied stealing a gun. On the afternoon of January 24, 2018 Goshen Township Police received a tip that the suspect bragged in jail about throwing a pistol from the vehicle. Officers and the fire department searched for several hours until sunset. I contacted Texas EquuSearch Ohio Division Dave Rader. On very short notice, he organized a team to assist Goshen Police. The next morning, a briefing was held wherein Dave and his team provided ideas and suggestions. The EquuSearch team had clearly discussed the scenario in advance of the briefing, putting their training and experience into practice. Based upon the facts as we knew them, Dave suggested that the gun would likely be 20 feet from the centerline of the roadway and laying on top of the soil.
“PROFESSIONAL – FRIENDLY POLICING”
We began the search with a total team size of approximately 25 including the Equusearch members. The total roadside search area was more than five miles. After several hours of searching, the pistol was found. Amazingly, it was exactly 20 feet off the roadway laying on top of the soil, exactly as Dave had suggested. Furthermore, based upon the recommended starting point of the team, they saved us days and miles of searching.
Dave Rader and the Equusearch Ohio team were extremely responsive and helpful. They were nothing less than professional, thorough, and they worked hard. Your men and women were absolutely instrumental in the search. As a result of the recovery, additional charges are being filed on the suspect, however, much more importantly – no child got their hands on the loaded gun.
My sincere appreciation to this wonderful team of searchers. I recommend them to any agency conducting a search and I will certainly be reaching out to Dave and his team, as needed, in the future.
Respectfully,
Bob Rose, Chief of Police
Goshen Township Police Department
6757 Goshen Road
Goshen, Ohio 45122
(513)722-3200
(513)722-3201 fax
Bob.Rose@goshen-oh.gov
