September 19 – 20, 2026

Camp Tecumseh Pittstown, NJ

• Classes & Workshops

• Field Exercises

• Certifications Available

It's a training event for emergency services and organizations involved in search and rescue operations that focuses on expanding your knowledge, connecting with fellow professionals, understanding procedures for searching, locating, and rescuing individuals missing or in distress. 

2003 FCI competitor

2011 FCI competitor

2015 Vice National USCA champion

2015 WUSV competitor

2016 USCA National Champion

2016 WUSV competitor

2025 Graduate of Canine Rehabilitation Institute with a Canine Rehabilitation Veterinary Assistant degree

An experienced K9 handler, trainer, and evaluator with more than four decades of Search and Rescue involvement, Vicki serves as both the Chief Trainer and Canine Coordinator for STRIKE K9 Search and Rescue team as well as serving on the Pennsylvania Search and Rescue Council Board as the Central Region Representative

Over her long SAR career, Vicki has always focused on education - both for herself and for the Search and Rescue community.

As a handler, Vicki has trained and certified five K9s in different disciplines; as the team Chief Trainer, she has worked with team members to certify more than two dozen K9s.

• She worked with Cornell University on Scent Theory; studied extensively all aspects of animal behavior, explored multiple training methods all to increase the tools in her handler/trainer tool box.

• She served as a Master Trainer for a local PD training K9.

• Served as a DCNR K9 Lead Evaluator for Wilderness Air Scent

• Served as a DCNR Instructor and Evaluator for the FTM/FTL certifications

• Serving as a Lead Evaluator for PSARC - more than 20 years

  • Wilderness Air Scent

  •  Trailing

  • HRD

• Serving as a Lead Instructor and Evaluator for NASAR - more than 10 years

  • FunSar course

  • Air Scent l ll lll Area Search

  • Trailing Wilderness and Urban

  • HRD Land

When Vicki isn’t focused on SAR, she spends her time working with wood burls making bowls.

Howard "Howie" Mousley is the Assistant Chief and Wilderness Air Scent Trainer for Northeast Search and Rescue (NESAR). His search and rescue journey began in 2010, training German Shepherds for SAR work. In 2011, Howie earned his FTM/FTL DCNR certification. The following year, April 2012, Howie and his first canine partner, Dolche, achieved certification as a Canine Air Scent Specialist Team through the Pennsylvania Search and Rescue Council. He furthered his qualifications, receiving his NASAR SARTECH II Certificate in May 2021. Just a month later, in June 2021, Howie and his second canine partner, Mayhem, certified in NASAR SARTECH II Area Search Non-Scent Discriminating. Howie's dedication to canine SAR work led him to achieve Lead Canine Evaluator status through PSARC and NASAR in April 2024.

Most recently, in September 2024, Howie and his current canine partner Mischeph are certified in both NASAR Canine SARTECH II - Non-Scent Discriminating and PSARC K9 air scent specialist. Beyond his canine handling duties, Howie instructs a variety of courses, including map and compass skills, survival techniques, and rope rescue. He is also a certified rope rescue technician. As a NESAR's Air Scent Trainer, Howie educates new handlers in search tactics, scent theory, and the crucial skill of understanding and interpreting their canine partners' behavior.

When he's not dedicating his time to SAR, Howie enjoys working around his farm property and exploring the outdoors through hiking and camping.

Garrett Dyer is a dog trainer and instructor with over 38 years of experience with field and search-and-rescue dogs. Garrett has trained and handled numerous upland game dogs. His passion for search and rescue began in 1991, when he was a member of the Search and Rescue Dogs of Maryland and the American Rescue Dog Association. He later became a member of Virginia Task Force 1, USAR team, where he held positions as a search team manager, canine search specialist, and task force leader. He has instructed a diverse group of trainers and handlers in search and rescue, law enforcement, field, and companion dog owners. He taught and presented at numerous national seminars and conferences. Garrett has responded to numerous missing person searches, HRD, and disaster missions, both domestically and abroad. Garrett specializes in teaching motivational development, which serves as the cornerstone of the working dog, and works with handlers to recognize canine behavior, modify it, and solve problems. Garrett currently serves as a judge in K9 Nose Work competitions, instructs handlers in canine detection, and remains active in helping handlers achieve their training goals with their canine partners.

Alex Tkacenko is OEM Coordinator of Plumsted Township NJ, and graduate of Cape May County Sheriffs K-9 Association making him a certified K-9 officer and is certified Police K9 Trainer and Instructor responsible for canine search and rescue and recovery missions in NJ.  Alex has been working in training all types of K9’s since 1992.  He has instructed & evaluated and certified for himself different types of disciplines in the canine world, for Live find Airscent, HRD, Mantrailing, Narcotics, Explosives K9’s are some of the types he has personally Handled and certified with.  He train’s K9’s 2 the standards of NJPP CCA, US PCA to certify police canines for Patrol, Explosive, Narcotics, Cadaver, Accelerant Detection, Mantrailing and Live Find Search Dogs. 

Alex was president of the Search and Rescue Council of New Jersey for 6 years and cofounder of Central Jersey K9 Search and Rescue.  He has been a member of the Berkeley Township Underwater Search and Rescue since 2017.  He hold’s a TEEX Canine Search Specialist FEMA & US&R and Task Force Leader certification as well is a NASAR Canine Evaluator Certification.  Alex has trained and handled dogs in human remains detection, live find airscent, mantrailing, narcotics and explosives K9’s.  He has personally handled and trained many various types of dogs for sheep dog competitions especially border collies, and hunting type dogs for competitions.  As well it's a basic and advanced obedience dog trainer and behavioral dog trainer.   Alex believes in building the bond with dog and handler so that the handler TRUST THEIR DOG/PARTNER.  The Motto Alex goes by is TRUST YOUR TRAINING, TRUST YOUR DOG.

Alex currently handles and is certified with K9 Rusty & Piper Bloodhounds for Mantrailing both very successful, K9 Vegas a GSD certified in Mantrailing, HRD, Live Find with success in all 3 disciplines, K9 Tequila Belgium Malinios certified Narcotics and Trailing, K9 River a GSD certified in Explosives.  Alex has handled many dogs and certified many in different disciplines and with different breeds of dogs.

Molly Buis has been involved in search and rescue since 2016 and has worked in multiple states as both a canine handler and ground pounder. Having grown up navigating from the back seat with a paper atlas, she believes in the importance of pairing GPS technology with a solid understanding of map reading and route planning.

Anne Shehab has been involved in K9 search and rescue for fifteen years, beginning with her live-find Amstaff adoptee, Oscar. She is a NASAR SARTech I, K9 NSD AND HRD SARTech III. Not originally an outdoors woman, and with no navigation experience, she frequently got lost during training, much to the horror and annoyance of her teammates. Eventually she developed a first-principles approach to map and compass navigation which she enjoys sharing with others who are dazed and confused by this tool.

Petra Cusato is the Deputy State Search and Rescue Coordinator, Search and Rescue Unit, Incident Support Bureau, New Jersey State Police. Petra Cusato is a full-time civilian employee at the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management Search and Rescue Unit. In this role, she serves as the Deputy State Search and Rescue Coordinator responsible for developing and implementing policies and procedures to maintain the readiness, capability, and efficacy of the SAR Unit. She serves an active role in many missing and endangered persons searches throughout the state utilizing tools such as Lost Person Behavior and search planning with SARTOPO. She is a certified National Association For Search and Rescue instructor in many disciplines including: SARTECH III, SARTECH II, Wilderness First Aid, Managing the Lost Person Incident, Search and Rescue Initial Actions, and SarTOPO.

• New Jersey State Police, Incident Support Bureau, Search & Rescue Unit, State SAR Coordinator

• NJ Incident Management Team Operations Section Chief

• Former President, Mountain Rescue Association and

• Former Chief,  New Jersey Search, and Rescue

30 years of active service.

Anna Delaney began her career with the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences in 2004. Over the years; Anna has worked in the Mitochondrial DNA Lab, CODIS DNA Lab and has supervised the Forensic Anthropology Unit since 2017. Anna specializes in human osteology, odontology, non-human comparisons, skeletal trauma analysis, excavations and exhumations. She provides training to Law Enforcement Agencies throughout New Jersey and is a guest lecturer at several Universities. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida’s Distance Learning Program. Anna also populates the NamUs database with information on New Jersey’s Unidentified and Missing Persons cases, modifies NCIC records for missing and unidentified and assists the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit with retrieval of medical and dental information. Anna works closely with Forensic Odontologists, Medical Examiner’s Offices and local, state and federal agencies. In addition to her casework, she has been working on the remains found at the Red Bank Battlefield, Fort Mercer, Gloucester County, New Jersey since June 2022.

Emily Fontaine is a Research Project Coordinator at the Rutgers Center for Vector Biology. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology secondary education and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health. Her primary work focuses on the NJ Ticks 4 Science! project, a statewide citizen science initiative centered on tick surveillance and public education. In this role, she identifies ticks submitted by New Jersey residents, performs DNA extraction, and tests specimens for pathogens at no cost to the public. She also participates in community outreach through tabling events, tick talks, and conferences, and contributes to field-based research. She is passionate about helping New Jersey residents better understand ticks and reduce their risk of tick-borne diseases.

Jeffrey Greenberg is a passionate and experienced instructor who has spent the past eight years teaching Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness First Responder, and Wilderness EMT Upgrade courses to students ranging from outdoor enthusiasts, medical professionals, and search and rescue teams. A volunteer EMT for the past 10 years, he also serves as the Medical Unit Co-lead for New Jersey Search and Rescue for the last 8 years.

He is a Fellow Candidate of the Wilderness Medical Society (FAWM) and has been published in Wilderness Medicine Magazine. Jeffrey also contributes his expertise as a member of the WMS Search and Rescue Committee. In addition, he teaches Basic Life Support and other courses for clinical healthcare providers.

When he’s not teaching or responding to calls, you can find Jeffrey hiking, kayaking, practicing primitive survival skills, and camping with his wife and four daughters on adventures across the United States. His real-world experience and love for the outdoors bring energy, authenticity, and practical insight to every class.

• Rescue Captain New Jersey Initial Response Team

• EMR Instructor

• Former NCRC Instructor

• Former NASAR Instructor

John has been involved in rescue and first aid communities for over 35 years. He was a founding member of NJIRT about 35 years ago, was a NJ EMT for over 30 years, EMR instructor, NCRC Cave Rescue Instructor for over 15 years (13 as a National Instructor).  John has taught area first aid squads and fire departments low angle rope rescue techniques and wilderness evacuation. He has provided hundreds of YMCA campers opportunities to rappell and climb and coordinated and ran YMCA caving trips in NJ and WV. He was a NASAR SAR TECH 2 provider when the NJIRT was doing wilderness response.

• Assistant Chief New Jersey Initial Response Team 

• Deputy Chief West Milford Search and Rescue

• Northeast Regional Coordinator NSS Vertical Training Commision

• Trainer for NSS VTC

• Instructor for National Cave Rescue Commission

Born and raised in Central PA as an outdoorsman and caver, Will now spends most of his time teaching others, introducing new cavers to the sport and working on exploration projects.  He has been active in the rescue community for the last decade.  Will is passionate about teaching vertical caving and has organized and led multiple National Speleological Society Vertical Training Commision Level 1 courses and is the current Northeast Regional Coordinator.  He is an National Cave Rescue Commission Instructor, and is deeply committed to the rescue and caving communities.  Will currently serves as Deputy Chief of his local municipal SAR team, West Milford Search and Rescue, and as Assistant Chief of New Jersey Initial Response Team, specializing in cave and abandoned mine rescue.  He also uses his vertical skills to help NJ Fish and Wildlife with banding of Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons.

Captain Gerald Turning Jr. served 25 years as a police officer in New Jersey, recently retiring from the rank of Captain.  He served most of his police career as a decorated K9 Handler, Trainer, and Unit Supervisor.   

Captain Turning also served as Internal Affairs Commander, Patrol Division Commander, and policy writer for his police department.

In 2012, Jerry began writing about his experiences as an autistic dad and established a successful blog, Bacon and Juiceboxes.  He earned a following of over 45,000 fans worldwide  who share his family’s challenges and triumphs.

As a member of two beloved communities:  Law Enforcement and Special Needs Families, Jerry has shown unwavering commitment. He found his calling in bridging the gap between these communities, improving communication, and establishing solid relationships between First Responders and the families they serve and protect.  

Jerry has lectured nationally, authored articles, and received awards for his efforts in Autism Awareness for First Responders.  He recently published his first novel, Desperate Pursuits, centered around a police officer processing the fresh diagnosis of his autistic son.