Summer 2001
Volume 108 - No. 2
Summer 2001
Volume 108 - No. 2
BLE Focus
A volunteer in the desert
Tom Fooshee (pronounced Foo-shay) of Phoenix, Arizona, has always enjoyed
wearing different hats.
In his early adult years he wore a sailor's cap, serving in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972. In March of 1973, he traded that in for a blue denim striped cap when he hired on with Southern Pacific Railroad, first as a switchman, then as a fireman, and eventually as a locomotive engineer. In his leisure time, Tom often dons a cowboy hat.
And then there's another hat that Tom is proud to wear. It's a tan ball cap that bears the embroidered initials "DSU," which stands for Desert Search Unit. Tom is a volunteer with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Desert Search Unit Posse, a valuable team of highly skilled trackers.
Posse members provide the Sheriff's Office with manpower and expertise that the Sheriff can call on at any time. Every county in Arizona has a Search and Rescue Coordinator who is responsible for organizing searches. The coordinator synchronizes all of the resources, including the helicopters that search for victims, the track teams that are dropped off at remote locations, and other posses that provide support with food and coffee, manning the command post, radio traffic, and plotting teams on the maps.
Usually, several counties will work together because a long search drains resources. Fooshee has been to several different counties in Arizona, along with his fellow posse members, conducting training, volunteering as a victim in a simulated search, and aiding in searches when the other counties' resources are strained. The Sheriff's Department frequently calls on the posse to assist with crime scene investigations as well as search and rescue efforts. This is all donated time; there is no salary.
"The only reward is being able to take an active part in your community," said Fooshee.
The main job of the trackers is not to actually find the missing person, but to find clues that will give the Sheriff's deputies or the coordinator a direction of travel so that they can concentrate their efforts. Trackers go out in teams of three: a point person and two flankers. They spend countless hours looking for kicked-over rocks, footprints, tire tracks, and other disturbances to the natural ground that might provide clues for the law enforcement officers. Every search is considered a crime scene. A person may appear to be lost and usually is, but on occasion he or she may have been abducted. The evidence gathered in the search may be the information that is critical in finding the missing person and/or prosecuting the criminal.
Each tracker carries a tracking stick, which is marked off in inches.
As the tracker walks, he drags the stick alongside his trail, making a line
in the terrain so that another tracker will be able to identify his footprints
as those of a fellow posse member. The tracking stick has three O-rings
on it, which the tracker can use to mark off measurements such as the length
of a footprint and the distance between each footprint. Tom carries a custom-made
stick, a Christmas gift from his wife Lita, which can also act as a radio
antenna when equipped with the proper connections and held high in the air.
Trackers are responsible for obtaining and maintaining their own equipment
and uniforms. In addition to the tracking stick, Tom carries a two-way radio,
a backpack, a lantern, a global positioning system, two compasses, a length
of rope, first aid equipment, water and food rations.
"It's very important, especially in the desert, to start hydrating yourself from the moment you get the call and to make sure you have enough water on hand," said Fooshee. "You don't want to end up becoming a liability out there."
In the 20 years that Tom has served as a Tracker with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Posse, he has spent more than one Christmas in the field. The best Christmas present is finding the victim, tired, cold, and hungry, and returning him or her to the family who has been up worrying all night.
Fooshee's railroad career and his volunteer work overlap in many ways. Serving as Secretary-Treasurer of BLE Division 123 from 1978-88, he acquired the skills needed to become the Financial Deputy for the Desert Search Unit. He has served in this capacity for a number of years. In addition to operating a train on the run from Phoenix to Yuma, he also served as Legislative Representative of Division 123 from 1982-88, then as Local Chairman from 1988-2000.
"I practice man-tracking everytime I run a train," said Fooshee. "When I get off to walk around my power or roll a train at a siding, I'll walk around then track myself. Sometimes it's extremely hard, even when you know where the tracks are. I'll look at other tracks made by other crews who have been there before and look at the age of the track, and the effects of the recent weather conditions."
A member of the BLE Safety Task Force since its inception, Fooshee played a major role in the 1997 investigation of an Amtrak derailment that occurred in the Arizona desert, just west of Phoenix, near Arlington Farms Road. He was first called to the derailment, which became known as the "Arlington Train Wreck," as a Sheriff's posse member when early evidence indicated possible sabotage. Fooshee had been involved in a search and rescue in that same vicinity just one month prior to the accident, so he was very familiar with the area. When he arrived at the scene, the area around the accident was already taped off. Fooshee obtained permission from the detective in charge and was able to take numerous photographs from outside the taped-off area with his 300 mm photographic lens. These photos, which he later provided to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), were the only photographic evidence of the whole train. By the time the NTSB arrived at the scene, the cars at the rear of the train had already been hauled back to the Phoenix Yard.
Fooshee would not have been at the scene had he not been a posse member. Once the NTSB investigation was underway, Fooshee took off his DSU hat and put on his Safety Task Force hat, providing assistance to the NTSB. His knowledge of the area from his experience as a locomotive engineer as well as his knowledge of the area from the Sheriff's Office search made him an indispensable team player in that investigation.
His artistic ability comes in handy in his duties as a Tracker. Fooshee makes detailed sketches of footprints, tire tracks, and other possible evidence. At one point, the sketch he provided of the tread marks on a set of tire tracks located near the site of a woman's body that was retrieved in the desert provided the evidence needed to place the suspect's vehicle at the scene of the crime. Fooshee was called to testify in court for this case.
Most of the searches are successful and 98 percent of the time they have a happy ending. Even when a search ends by locating a missing person who has expired, it's still a success. At least some relief is provided to the family when they know what has happened to their loved one. It's not knowing and having those unanswered questions that is most excruciating.
In the last few years, Tom has done more teaching than tracking. As experienced trackers, the DSU Posse can provide valuable training to new members. He also gives wise advice to anyone who sets out on a trek in the desert: (1) let someone know where you're going; (2) state your expected time of return; (3) give your license plate number and a description of your vehicle, as well as the clothing you are wearing, and (4) carry extra water and food, a blanket, and basic survival gear.
"Some people love hunting and fishing and so do I, but man-tracking is a real challenge," said Fooshee. "When you worked a search and you tracked a person and aided in their rescue, that is a high that stays with you a long time. That is the best reward."
Photo caption: Tom Fooshee wears one of his many hats, this one as a member of the Desert Search Unit with the Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff's office.
© 2001 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers