For Mr. Padden and Kodiak, such exercises are basic training. Mr. Padden of Medford is team leader of Long Island K-9 Search and Rescue, a 22-member squad that draws volunteers from Lawrence to Laurel and Mattituck and their canine partners: retrievers, bloodhounds, and herding dogs whose superior sense of smell and responsiveness to training make them ideal for tracking missing people.

Mr. Padden, a former volunteer firefighter in Yaphank and North Patchogue, started training dogs for hunt and field trials through the American Kennel Club 18 years ago, progressed to scent work for the U.S. Coast Guard, using dogs to locate explosives and narcotics, and then to wilderness search and rescue, starting Long Island K-9 Search and Rescue in 2006.

The group is part of a fledgling national network of volunteer search and rescue teams -- about 30 exist in New York state -- that work with fire and police departments and other service agencies in response to disasters and reports of lost or missing persons.

On Long Island, their missions include locating hikers, hunters, and mountain bikers who lose their bearings in nature preserves or the Pine Barrens; young children who wander out of backyards into the woods; Alzheimer's patients who leave their homes and become disoriented; dementia patients who walk away from retirement homes; and emotionally disturbed, disconsolate people who seek solitude in the woods, Mr. Padden said.

Recently, the team helped locate a suicidal man in his 20s who had wandered into Wildwood State Park in Wading River. Canine search and rescue volunteers combed the woods and bluffs leading down to Long Island Sound, and emergency teams flooded the area with search lights and loudspeakers until the man walked out.

Last year, Mr. Padden and Kodiak went out on a marine rescue boat on Laurel Lake to locate the submerged remains of a drowned canoeist -- and his surviving partner, who had made it to shore.

Search and rescue work attracts a certain type of person, Mr. Padden explained.

"If your response is to see a burning building and run away, you're human. If you see a burning building and want to run in and help, you're a candidate for search and rescue."

The team gathered Oct. 24 at Martha Clara Vineyards to demonstrate their skills, attract new recruits, and raise money to support their efforts. The event brought in $2,300 -- about enough to cover a new member's training, equipment and certification costs for a year and a half, Mr. Padden said. The state legislature is weighing a bill that would make volunteer search and rescue teams in New York state accredited emergency service agencies, meaning the state would pay their expenses.

Sue Condreras of Northville, a surgical physician's assistant at Peconic Bay Medical Center, joined after attending a fundraiser in 2008 with her 18-month old German shepherd, Jesse. For years, Ms. Condreras had volunteered with ambulance services in Riverhead and Huntington.

"It's in my nature to want to help people. This way I get to combine my love of dogs with my love of volunteering," she said. "There's an adrenaline rush to it, and it feels good to help others."

"It's amazing. It's moving. And it's very rewarding," added Ms. Baird, who along with Graf joined three years ago. Ms. Baird, who worked as an EMT for ambulance services in Bay Shore, Southampton and Hampton Bays, said the searches can be stressful, but at the same time are a source of enjoyment for her dog.

"It's the best game in the world for him. If I put on something black (the color of the team's uniform) just to go to work, he's gets all excited. He's ready to go."

Retrievers and herding dogs, such as German shepherds and border collies, typically locate missing people by air-scenting -- smelling the air for the presence of humans. The dogs can find a specific person after given an article of clothing to sniff. Ground-tracking dogs, such as bloodhounds, can sometimes smell the handle of an abandoned car, then follow the scent of a person's boots in grass or dirt or leaves while tracking through fields or woods, Mr. Padden said.

The teams follow a particular search protocol when called to action. Age, sex, recreational activity, known personality characteristics, last place seen, and point of entry into a secluded area are important pieces of the puzzle.

For instance, a young person travels a lot quicker on foot than an old person, covering a greater distance in a shorter period of time. Children five or younger soon become frightened when lost and typically seek cover under logs or brush, curling up in the fetal position. Teenagers, on the other hand, have more confidence in their skills and try to walk out.

People contemplating suicide seek quiet and solitude, and can often be found when a remote area, flooded with sound, lights, and rescue workers, no longer offers a sufficient level of privacy, Mr. Padden added.

Training for such work encompasses CPR; wilderness first aid class, survival skills, and search tactics; crime scene preservation; incident command procedures; and analyzing human behavior patterns that have emerged from nationwide rescue data. The group meets once during the week and practices with their dogs at Southaven Park in Mastic on weekends.

"If you have an interest in the outdoors, it's something you can fit right into. It's taking a hobby to an extreme level, where you can provide help to other people," commented Craig Tupot of Lindenhurst, a certified man tracker who assists the group.

editor@timesreview.com