Computer program helped direct search for lost autistic man

A rescue squad member developed the program, which "gave us a good sense of where to look" for the autistic man.

By RODRIGO ZAMITH, Star Tribune

Last update: June 25, 2008 - 1:23 AM

After days of futile searching and without leads, Burnett County officials were desperate for any new techniques to find the 25-year-old autistic man who disappeared in dense Wisconsin woods. They turned to a computer program to help guide them.

"I was skeptical at first," Burnett County Sheriff Dean Roland said Tuesday. "It's not that I didn't trust it, I just never used anything like it before."

Keith Kennedy disappeared from Trade Lake Camp, 7 miles south of Grantsburg, on June 15. About a week later, a St. Paul firefighter stumbled upon Kennedy, of Shoreview, curled in the fetal position near a creek roughly a mile west of the camp. The young man, who had a kidney transplant several years ago, had gone without his antirejection medication for the week he was gone, but is expected to recover.

Lt. Rick Slatten, a member of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Rescue Squad, developed the computer program, called Search Tracker. It organizes a search area into smaller units, analyzes terrain, vegetation cover, what searchers have done and recommends which units should be searched more thoroughly. The rescue squad has used Search Tracker for about three years.

According to Roland, Burnett County officials prioritized the use of their resources, including dog teams, helicopters and professional rescue teams, using the probabilities offered by the program. Volunteers continued general sweeps of nearby areas.

Roland said the software was put to use late last week after he was approached by Slatten.

"As each day ticked by, the probability increased that he wouldn't be found alive," said Roland. "Law enforcement and firefighters are used to seeing dead people. If there was a body and it decayed with the heat, you don't want volunteers to be the ones to find it.

"It didn't pinpoint the location exactly, but it gave us a good sense of where to look," Roland said. "It's why we sent professional teams to sweep certain areas more than once."

He said helicopters were even dispatched to nearby sites to create wind to help search dogs pick up a scent. In the end, it took a human to find Kennedy.

"The computer helped mathematically steer them," Roland said. "But you can't say enough about the St. Paul fireman and all the people that helped with this search."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Rodrigo Zamith • 612-673-4895

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