TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A volunteer search team in North Florida is stepping in to help law enforcement find missing people, offering specialized resources at no cost.
The North Florida Search Team is a completely volunteer-based nonprofit. Michelle McLaughlin has been involved in search and rescue since 2001, and launched the organization three years ago.
“Our whole goal is to help law enforcement in any way, not hinder anything,” she said.
The North Florida Search Team is a completely volunteer-based nonprofit.(North Florida Search Team)
The team goes out on searches across the state only when called by law enforcement. McLaughlin said they help agencies that don’t have the resources they do.
The team includes K9 handlers, drone operators, dive teams, ground search crews, and even a unit on horseback. Their dogs play a critical role, from tracking to air-scent work, helping cover large areas faster than humans alone.
“They are the 80%, we are the 20%. They can do the work we cannot do,” said Bobby Staerker, the team’s president and a K9 handler.
He said volunteers train in all conditions, from urban areas to wilderness, heat to rain, all to be ready when called, often during some of the most difficult times for families.
The team includes K9 handlers, drone operators, dive teams, ground search crews, and even a unit on horseback.(North Florida Search Team)
The team responded to 5 searched in 2024 and 17 searches in 2025. The group most recently assisted in a search in Alachua County for a missing teenage girl who was found over the weekend.
McLaughlin says the work is challenging but rewarding. “It’s a sad time sometimes, and there have been some really good moments too,” she said. Staerker adds, “We all have a heart of a servant.”
The North Florida Search Team accepts volunteer applications on a rolling basis.
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