Our Story

The National Center for Virtual Search, and the Virtual Search Process (VSP) was developed by a retired Alaska State Trooper, Paul M Burke. With over fifty years of search and rescue (SAR) experience at all levels of SAR Operations, Mr. Burke has been able to work in a wide variety of search operations from many positions: As an instructor in Search Management, and as a continuing Practitioner in the science of finding lost subjects, Mr. Burke has developed one of the most significant methodologies for understanding and processing the complexities of search operations and those who become lost. By utilizing a broad base of information and harnessing the power of the internet, Mr. Burke has taken the understanding of the Lost Person from an elementary drawing to a full color, high resolution picture of the missing. This image, with all of its depth, breadth, and definition, is then put through an algorithm with human VSP Analysts trained to understand the subject within the environment and context of their loss.

As a result, SAR Resources at the outset of any search are provided with the most intricate and accurate picture of the lost subject and their environment in our experience. This process, when fully utilized , has historically achieved greater than 85% probability that the subject will be found in the operational period in which it is used. While there is no guarantee of similar results in the next case we conduct a VSP in, we are confident in giving search managers and SAR resources a picture like no other, and the possibility of achieving results they have never had in the past.

The National Center for Virtual Search is the culmination of both the operational use of VSP, and the collaboration of many search and rescue professionals throughout the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Each one has been a long-term educator, manager, researcher, or program developer, and above all, an active practitioner in search and rescue operations. They have been devoted to missing and lost person events for decades, and they bring their experience and skills to a national audience through the NCVS. Planning and organization of this concept has been continuing for over ten years, with the culmination of the NCVS build during the Summer of 2023. Every process and the applied science behind it are being constantly evaluated and improved. Analysts are continually being developed throughout the SAR community and the NCVS is a result of “great minds thinking alike.