27 February 2022: REDOG deploys four dog teams, two operations managers and one drone team that work together with the cantonal police department and Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA) in the Solothurn region. The search spans over 160,000 sqm of difficult terrain. The missing woman is found by passing persons outside our search area during the afternoon. She had unfortunately passed away.

12 May 2022 (photo): REDOG deploys one operations manager, one technical detection expert and four dog handlers to a collapsed construction site in Feusisberg. Three men were buried under the rubble but had all sadly passed away by the time help could get to them. News

21 May 2023: REDOG deploys eight dog teams, two operations managers and one drone pilot that work together with the cantonal police department in the Biel region. A man has gone missing. He never returned home after work. The search is discontinued after five hours as a third person finds the missing person who has sadly passed away.

15 June 2022: REDOG deploys two operations managers and seven dog teams to help five Search and Rescue (SAR) team members in Tessin. Together with the police and Alpine Rescue, we search for a missing person.

26 June 2022: REDOG deploys two operations managers, seven dog teams and one drone team for the search of a missing person in Unterengadin.

30 June 2022: REDOG supports the Solothurn police with nine dog teams in the search for a missing person.

15 July 2022: REDOG deploys 10 search and rescue dog teams to Wägi Valley The search has to be discontinued without success as the missing person was not in the search area.

28 July 2022: REDOG deploys six search and rescue dog teams to the Schermenwald forest near Bern. The missing person was not found.

17 October 2022: The REDOG dog teams found a missing person during a search in the Canton of Schaffhausen. The man had sadly passed away.

12 November 2022: REDOG deploys five dog teams, two operations managers and one drone to assist Search and Rescue (SAR) team members. Together with Alpine Rescue Switzerland, they search for a missing person. The search is unsuccessful.

17 November 2022: Five REDOG dog teams and two operations managers are deployed to the Sigirio region in Tessin. Together with Alpine Rescue, Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA), civil protection and the police, they search for a missing person. The person was found but had sadly passed away.

19 December 2022: REDOG deploys 18 persons, 11 dogs and one drone to help the Solothurn cantonal police department with a search that lasts three hours. The missing person was not found.

22 December 2022: REDOG deploys seven dog teams, two operations managers and one drone to a major search in the Basel region. The missing person is found alive and well the next day.

29 January 2023: The police department in Tessin asks REDOG to participate in a missing person search. The Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA) finds the missing person who had sadly passed away.

6-13 February 2023: With a large team of 14 dogs and 22 REDOG members, REDOG supports both Swiss Rescue and GEA in the search for disaster victims following the earthquake in the border region of Turkey and Syria.

5 March 2023: With four dog teams and two operations managers, REDOG participates in a missing person search in the Solothurn region. The missing person is found outside the search area in the evening. They had unfortunately passed away.

2 May 2023: REDOG sends eight dog teams and one operations manager to Valais. The search has to be discontinued without success as the missing person could not be found in any of the possible search areas.

13 July 2023: Deployment of two dog teams and one team leader to a landslide in Lostallo in the Canton of Grisons. The fire service engages REDOG and Alpine Rescue Switzerland (ARS) as the authorities want to ensure that nobody is buried under the rubble. Nobody had been reported as missing, but there were many people in the village due to a festival being held there. The search is discontinued around 9 pm. Nobody is found.

24 August 2023: Over two days, REDOG dog teams support the search for a missing person in the region around Rovio, Municipality of Val Mara, Canton of Tessin. The search is discontinued on the second evening. The missing person was not found.

28 August 2023: Nine REDOG search and rescue dog teams are already planning the search area in the Steffisburg region when the police reports that the missing person has been found. A mountain rescue team had found his lifeless body at the foot of a rock face.

31 August 2023: With a large deployment of 12 dog teams, REDOG supports the search for missing Liberal Party (FDP) Member of the Cantonal Parliament, Remigi Zumbühl, in the Canton of Nidwalden. Zumbühl has been reported missing since the previous weekend. The search is intense but remains unsuccessful.

September 28, 2023: Seven REDOG dog teams support the search for a missing person in the Coutetelle/Delémont region. Unfortunately, the missing person cannot be found in the search area.

September 30, 2023: Five dog teams and two team leaders support the search for a missing person in Heimberg near Thun. The missing person is found safe and sound outside the search area the following day.

November 30, 2023: Missing person search alert in the Solothurn region. Cancelled before the search starts.

December 23, 2023: Alert to search for buried persons in the Wichtrach region after the collapse of an unoccupied house. Cancelled before the search starts.

27 February 2022: REDOG deploys four dog teams, two operations managers and one drone team that work together with the cantonal police department and Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA) in the Solothurn region. The search spans over 160,000 sqm of difficult terrain. The missing woman is found by passing persons outside our search area during the afternoon. She had unfortunately passed away.

12 May 2022 (photo): REDOG deploys one operations manager, one technical detection expert and four dog handlers to a collapsed construction site in Feusisberg. Three men were buried under the rubble but had all sadly passed away by the time help could get to them. News

21 May 2023: REDOG deploys eight dog teams, two operations managers and one drone pilot that work together with the cantonal police department in the Biel region. A man has gone missing. He never returned home after work. The search is discontinued after five hours as a third person finds the missing person who has sadly passed away.

15 June 2022: REDOG deploys two operations managers and seven dog teams to help five Search and Rescue (SAR) team members in Tessin. Together with the police and Alpine Rescue, we search for a missing person.

26 June 2022: REDOG deploys two operations managers, seven dog teams and one drone team for the search of a missing person in Unterengadin.

30 June 2022: REDOG supports the Solothurn police with nine dog teams in the search for a missing person.

15 July 2022: REDOG deploys 10 search and rescue dog teams to Wägi Valley The search has to be discontinued without success as the missing person was not in the search area.

28 July 2022: REDOG deploys six search and rescue dog teams to the Schermenwald forest near Bern. The missing person was not found.

17 October 2022: The REDOG dog teams found a missing person during a search in the Canton of Schaffhausen. The man had sadly passed away.

12 November 2022: REDOG deploys five dog teams, two operations managers and one drone to assist Search and Rescue (SAR) team members. Together with Alpine Rescue Switzerland, they search for a missing person. The search is unsuccessful.

17 November 2022: Five REDOG dog teams and two operations managers are deployed to the Sigirio region in Tessin. Together with Alpine Rescue, Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA), civil protection and the police, they search for a missing person. The person was found but had sadly passed away.

19 December 2022: REDOG deploys 18 persons, 11 dogs and one drone to help the Solothurn cantonal police department with a search that lasts three hours. The missing person was not found.

22 December 2022: REDOG deploys seven dog teams, two operations managers and one drone to a major search in the Basel region. The missing person is found alive and well the next day.

4 May 2021: The Solothurn cantonal police department alerts REDOG. Six dog teams and an operations manager are on site in Olten when a private person finds the missing woman who is alive and well.

13 May 2021: An 86-year-old man has been missing for several days in the Chur region. The police alerts REDOG. 10 dog teams and two operations managers are deployed. All possible locations are searched without success. The search is discontinued as no new clues are found.

5 June 2021: Eight dog teams search for a young woman who has been missing for more than a month in the Sursee region at the request of her family. The search is unsuccessful. As no new clues are found regarding the possible whereabouts of the missing person, the search is discontinued in the evening of the same day.

5 June 2021: 10 REDOG dog teams search for a man near Vermes im Jura. He has been missing since the beginning of the month. The missing person is found the same evening outside the search area defined for the dogs. Unfortunately, he had passed away.

9 June 2021: REDOG deploys five dog teams to search a wooded area near the home of a woman who has been missing for two days in the Emmen region. The search is discontinued unsuccessfully as there are no specific clues that would make a further search possible.

12 June 2021: REDOG deploys six dog teams. The missing person is found but had sadly passed away. We shall not disclose the location and circumstances out of respect for their next of kin.

2 July 2021: REDOG deploys three dog teams to support the family and police with the search of various riverbanks in the Steffisburg region. The missing boy is found three days later in Lake Wohlen.

4 July 2021: Three alerts are received during the weekend of 3/4 July 2021. 11 dog teams are deployed to a search in the Sevelen region. The missing person is found but had sadly passed away.

4 July 2021: The second deployment on the day of the search is called off shortly before going out as the missing person had been found.

4 July 2021: When the third alert is received, the circumstances are clarified but a deployment is out of the question.

31 July to 2 August 2021: A REDOG team (human remains search dogs, a missing persons search dog, a disaster victim search dog, a team leader and an operations logistics expert) is deployed to Germany following the devastating floods in Dernau im Ahrtal, Rhineland-Palatinate (photo on left). News

3 August 2021: Two REDOG dog teams are deployed to help the police, Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA), SAS and ART in Tessin. An elderly man has gone missing in the Bodio region. The search is discontinued unsuccessfully as there are no specific clues that would make a further search possible.

16 August 2021: Five REDOG dog teams search for a missing woman in the Meiringen region. Unfortunately, the woman is not found in the area where she had been suspected. The search is discontinued as no new clues are found.

20 August 2021: Seven REDOG dog teams are deployed to the Champex in Valais region. An elderly man has gone missing. Unfortunately, the man is not found in the area where he had been suspected. The search is discontinued as no new clues are found.

January 2020: Next of kin alert REDOG of a missing person. REDOG talks to the emergency services, clarifies issues and provides consulting services. Due to a lack of, or insufficient, clues, however, no dogs or technical detection experts are deployed.

February 2020: REDOG participates in a search in Monthey in the Canton of Valais for an elderly woman who has been missing since the previous evening. The deployment is discontinued in the late afternoon as the woman reports to the police.

February 2020: REDOG participates in a search in the Lausanne region for a missing man, which is discontinued without success. All areas that can be searched by the dogs have been searched.

April 2020: REDOG is involved in clarifications about a missing couple in the mountains. All help comes too late for the missing persons. They fell during their hike and suffered fatal injuries. Their bodies were spotted during a Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA) flight.

May 2020: REDOG is alerted by next of kin of a missing person. Clarifications are conducted in the Visp region. The police finds the missing person in Lausanne the same day.

July 2020: REDOG deploys four dog teams and one technical detection expert in the evening of the train disaster on the Matterhorn Gotthard line. Although nobody was reported as missing, the responsible persons want to ensure that nobody is left injured under the rubble once the cleanup starts. Nobody is found.

August 2020: REDOG deploys seven search and rescue dog teams to the search for a missing adult in the Meiringen region.

August 2020: The disaster victim search dog teams are on standby following the explosion in Beirut. No deployment takes place.

August 2020: The disaster victim search dog teams are on standby after heavy rainfall in Tessin and Südbünden. Landslides in residential areas or on roads could require a search for persons buried under the rubble. No deployment is necessary.

September 2020: REDOG deploys six dog teams and one drone to help with the search of a missing woman in the Sion region. The woman sadly passed away during a hike.

October 2020: Standby and clarification of the disaster victim search following the earthquake in Izmir, Turkey. Our partner organisation GEA is on site. REDOG does not deploy any teams.

December 2020: Standby and clarification of the disaster victim search following the earthquake in Croatia. REDOG does not deploy any teams.

Early Tuesday morning, on 26 November 2019, a severe earthquake shakes the western coast of Albania. The REDOG search and rescue dog team flies out on the same day to Durrës. Together with the Turkish partners of the GEA rescue organisation, four REDOG dog teams search for persons buried under the rubble.

News

August and September 2019: Following a devastating mudslide in the Municipality of Chamoson in the Canton of Valais, REDOG teams, together with the cantonal and regional organisations, support the search for people buried under the rubble. Report

August 2019: Deployment of human remains search dogs in a fire-damaged building in Basel. News

January 2019: Together with the police, Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA) and Alpine Rescue Switzerland, the mother of a REDOG member, who did not return from a day out in the mountains, is found alive and well.

March 2019: Our search and rescue dogs find a missing woman in the border region of Italy, in the forests of Campione d'Italia. The woman, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, had sadly fallen from a great height and passed away when she is found

March 2019: Search in Geneva. The missing person is found by third parties.

May 2019: The fire service of the Geneva region alerts REDOG as cries for help were heard, first near a cave, the later near a river. REDOG deploys search and rescue dog teams. Nobody is found, neither in the water nor on the riverbank, in the woods or in the cave.

June 2019: REDOG finds a young man in a wooded area in the Olten region. The man has special needs and as a result lost his way home. Fortunately, he has suffered only minor injuries. Report

June 2019: After the search for a missing elderly man in the Geneva region is discontinued without success, his body is found the next day in the river.

July 2019: Missing person search in the Viamala region in the Canton of Grisons. The search is discontinued without success.

July 2019: Missing person search in the Oberwald region in the Canton of Valais. The search is discontinued after Rohne dam employees recover the body of the missing person.

July 2019: Major search in the Les Paccots region with Alpine Rescue, armed forces, police, Alpine and canyoning experts and REDOG. The missing man, who had gone jogging, could not be found. News

November 2019: Search in Bubikon. Next of kin alert REDOG. The missing person is found before the rescue team arrives.

A mantrailing team, drone crew and search and rescue teams participate in a search for a missing woman in the Canton of Aargau. The search remains unsuccessful.

The REDOG search and rescue dog teams are deployed for two days in Bergell at the end of August. The rockslide is one of the largest in Switzerland for more than a 100 years. There is a risk of further rockslides and this indeed materialises in the form of a second mudslide. All dog teams, humans and dogs, have to be flown t and from the disaster region in helicopters. The missing group of eight hikers is sadly not found. (Photo)

Two REDOG teams with six dogs, two drones and 15 humans are deployed at the same time in the Glaubenberg region in the Canton of Obwalden. The 82-year-old mushroom picker is not found despite a major search by the armed forces, Alpine Rescue, police and Swiss Air-Rescue (REGA).

News

Photo gallery

In September, REDOG participates in the search for a 14-year-old teenager in the Canton of Bern. A huge search team comprised of police, fore service, armed forces and mountain experts uses dogs and helicopters to search the difficult terrain around Menziwilegg. The missing girl was found by the police in France.

Further deployments:

• Mantrailing in Valais, March 2017

In mid-March, one of the many deployed REDOG mantrailing and search and rescue dog teams find a teenager in good spirits in a wooded area in Valais. All search team members are relived to find the boy alive.

In December, in the region around Passwang, the police and REDOG find a missing person but sadly realise that he had been true to his word and had taken his own life.

Both families personally alerted REDOG.

Further deployments:

• Missing person search in Willisau, January 2016.

Three dog handlers and one team leader search for people buried under rubble in the huge rockslide area that destroyed the roads in the valley in the Canton of Grisons on 8 March. The search is discontinued in the evening. There are no signs of living persons under the rubble.

Together with the Turkish rescue organisation, GEA, REDOG helps with the search for disaster victims. After GEA saves the lives of two persons, the REDOG team and GEA continue to search for further victims under the rubble. News

Further deployments:

• Disaster victim search dogs at the fire in Collonge-Bellerive in 2015

During a major training event in the Flumserberge region, a family alerts REDOG that the father is missing in the region. The search remains unsuccessful despite an unusually large number of search members. The man has already been missing for 10 days at this point.

The chance of finding a missing person diminishes each day. It is therefore crucial to raise the alarm early on. + 41 (0)844 441 144

Further deployments:

• Mantrailing in Geneva, June 2015
• Search for a two-year-old child in Wattwil, April 2015 News
• Missing person search in Buckten, January 2015 News

Heavy rainfall trigger a mudslide and several days later a landslide in Tessin. REDOG dog teams are deployed and find the persons who are buried under debris and rubble.

News Bombinasco | News Davesco

Further deployments:

• Missing person search in Mümliswil, December 2014
• Missing person search in Laupen, December 2014
• Missing person search in Croy, December 2014
• Missing person search / mantrailing in the Saas region, December 2014
• Missing person search in Saignelégier, November 2014
• Missing person search on the Passwang Pass, October 2014
• Missing person search in Basel-Country, September 2014
• Deployment of disaster victim search dogs following the collapse of a church in Geneva, September 2014
• Mantrailing in Bernex, September 2014
• Missing person search in Geneva, September 2014
• Missing person search in Geneva, August 2014
• 2 x mantrailing in Geneva, June 2014

Following heavy rainfall, landslides and mudslides occur in several locations in Switzerland. REDOG is involved in a landslide in a residential area in the Montreux region on 3 June to search for any persons buried under the rubble. Fortunately, nobody was buried.

Further deployments:

• Missing person search in Tessin, October 2013
• Missing person search in Tessin, September 2013
• Missing person search in Chézard-St. Martin, September 2013
• Missing person search near Albligen, Bern, June 2013

The police requests disaster victim search dogs as they fear that children may have been inside an empty, collapsed barn in the village centre of Niedergösgen. The teams are on site one hour after being alerted. Fortunately, the search in the part of the building that is ready to collapse at any time does not lead to any clues of persons buried under the rubble.

Further deployments:

• Disaster victim search following a rockslide in the Municipality of Gurtnellen, June 2012
• Disaster victim search in Bern, May 2012
• Disaster victim search following a house explosion in Pratteln, April 2012
• Missing person search in Orselina, March 2012

15 REDOG members and nine disaster victim search dogs are deployed following the earthquake and devastating tsunami in Japan. The deployment is unusual in many respects. It has to be discontinued several times due to aftershocks and poor weather conditions – snow and cold.

Further deployments:

• Disaster victim search following a house collapse in Coppet (VD), September 2016
• Missing person search in Bivio, April 2011
• Missing person search in Sigriswil, April 2011

Three REDOG teams are deployed as part of the Swiss Rescue team, which has more than 100 members, in Padang.

News report

Further deployments:

• Missing person search in Bannwil, June 2009
• Disaster victim search in St. Trex (VD), 2009
• Disaster victim search in Grono (GR), 2008
• Missing person search in Astanao (TI), 2007
• Missing person search in Geneva, French border region, 2007
• Missing person search in Oberbüren, 2007
• Missing person search in the Morcote-Carona-Alpe Vicania region, 2006
• Missing person search in the Scheibenfluh region near Blumenstein, 2006
• Missing person search in Castelrotto (TI), 2006
• Missing person search in the Gorges de la Veveyse region, Pont de Fenil, 2006
• Missing person search in Origlio (TI), 2005
• Missing person search on the Col de Jaman mountain pass (VD), 2004
• Missing person search in the Roveredo Valley (TI), 2004
• Disaster victim search following a gas explosion in Bern, 2004
• Landslide in Valais, 2003
• Earthquake in Bam, Iran, 2003
• Earthquake in Algeria, 2003
• Earthquake in India, 2001

13 shining stars, high up in the Rudenwand rockface, are reminders of the 13 Gondo residents who were flung to their deaths by the mudslide on 14 October 200. Heavy rainfall, which hammered against the rockface for several days then drained into the ground at its foot, caused the side of the mountain to slide, taking with it buildings, roads, protective barrier and infrastructure. This was an emotional deployment for REDOG as the team members had to search for one of their colleagues and his family who all had been buried.

Nine years after Gondo – the crisis manager remembers

Interview with Denise Affolter about the deployment in Gondo

It is an emotional moment when Colin, the Golden Retriever, indicates one day after the earthquake that he can smell humans under the rubble. The children, who are rescued alive, are still in contact with Colin’s handler, Elias Kalt, thanks to “Happy Days” on the Swiss TV channel, SRF. 

Happy Days video starts at 19:13

Further deployments:

• Earthquake in Düzce, Turkey, 1999
• Earthquake in Taiwan, 1999
• Earthquake in Aegion, Greece, 1999

• Explosion in Bern, 1998
• Earthquake in Iran, 1997
• Flood in Giswil (OW), 1996
• Explosion in Schlieren, 1996
• Fire in Niederbipp, 1996
• Landslide in Villeneuve, 1995
• Earthquake in Kobe, Japan, 1995
• Earthquake in Aegion, Greece, 1995
• Bombing in Oklahoma City, USA, 1995
• Earthquake in Dinar, Turkey, 1995
• Earthquake in Los Angeles, 1994
• Flood in Brig,1993
• Earthquake in Turkey, 1992
• Earthquake in Costa Rica, 1991
• Earthquake in Iran, 1990
• Earthquake in Armenia, 1988
• Earthquake in San Salvador, 1986
• Earthquake in Mexico, 1985
• Dam failure in Italy, 1985
• Hattenhausen, 1984
• Earthquake in Turkey, 1983

Following the earthquake in North Yemen, Swiss Rescue deploys 15 dog teams to the disaster region where they save the lives of three persons buried under the rubble. 

• Earthquake in Irpinia, Italy, 1981
• Explosion in Italy, 1980
• Earthquake in Algeria, 1980
• Earthquake in Yugoslavia, 1979
• Earthquake in Bucharest, 1977
• Earthquake in Friaul, Italy 1976

In the photo: Monika Wieland. Women have always been part of the rescue teams from the very beginning.  

Ari and Gary are the first Swiss disaster victim search dogs. They indicate the location of two missing hikers following a landslide in the Wägi Valley in the Canton of Schwyz.

Just 10 days later, they are deployed following an explosion in an explosives factory in Dottikon (in the photo).