LAST night I joined 10 volunteers from West Mercia Search and Rescue for a practice exercise in Dudmaston Estate.

My teammates and I combed through the thick forest of the estate late into the night, searching for a missing woman with dementia.

Speaking with the volunteers in team two, I learnt about the important work of the charity and got to participate in some drills.

West Mercia Search and Rescue mainly find people who go missing as a result of mental illnesses.

The group deal with a variety of situations such as searching for individuals who are suicidal as a result of depression, or finding people who have gone missing due to dementia.

Andy MacAuley, chairman of West Mercia Search and Rescue, said the team’s methods are rooted in science and statistics.

Mr MacAuley, 39, said: “When people go missing they have similar patterns, for instance people naturally go to water. People with dementia stay near paths and suicidal people stay near their cars.

“All of search and rescue is based around these patterns which 90 percent of people follow.”

Mr MacAuley said speed was the priority during searches and recalled cases where people had died within hours from falling into a wet ditch.

The group is funded by donations and manned wholly by volunteers, serving Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire.

“It’s expensive to run this charity. We have six boats, two vans and a 4x4 to tow the boats. We have to put store, insure and maintain them,” he said.

“We also have to train our people in navigation and first aid.”

Rob Packer, a volunteer who works in Worcester, said: “I went on my first call out a couple of weeks ago and luckily we managed to find the missing lady.

“She was a dementia sufferer who was missing for two days. I had an immense feeling of satisfaction when we found her.”

James Whitehurst, another volunteer, said the team is busiest in winter due to rising rivers and the Christmas holidays.

Mr Whitehurst said: “Christmas and New Year can create more despondent people as it’s the time of year when lots of people are merry.

“If people have lost family members, then seeing other people happy can make a despondent person lots worse.

“Also people drink more alcohol during this season and can fall in rivers. As the water is much colder, people can’t swim for as long.”

It take six months of training before new recruits are allowed to become operational, and join the rescue group on call outs.

A member of our team, Mark Sox, 44, became an operational member of the group last night after passing his assessment.

After carrying out “transit searches” on the paths we carried out slower more forensic area searches of the forest.

Our team’s vigilance paid off when Mr Whitehurst spotted the missing woman two hours into our search.

I came away from the evening impressed with the dedication and selflessness of the 56 people who volunteer for West Mercia Search and Rescue.

People can donate to the charity by texting “RESC00 £[amount]” to 70070. People can also donate online through www.wmsar.org.uk.