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Dr. Robert J Koester first joined the Appalachian Search & Rescue Conference in 1981 and since then has participated in hundreds of searches including over a hundred as an Incident Commander. Currently he is a Search Mission Coordinator and instructor the the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.. He earned a PhD from the University of Portsmouth in search theory. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Institute of Search & Technical Rescue. He was awarded the most influential individual by the Global Search & Rescue Excellence Awards in 2025.His contributions to SAR include seminal research on search theory, Lost Person Behavior, creating new subject categories, introducing reflex tasking, and field work in Probability of Detection. He created and maintains the International Search & Rescue Incident Database (ISRID) which has grown to over a half million incidents. He as authored dozens of books and research papers including Lost Person Behavior. He has presented around the world and frequently interviewed by major media sources.
The Second Edition of Lost Person Behavior is well underway. The talk will highlight some of the new additions to the book. An update on data being collected including from polar regions, different approaches to Probability of area (5 different methods), scenario analysis - a more formal approach, Lost Person Responses ( strategies updates on decision points, terrain analysis, cognitive bias, emotional response, and Lost Person Strategies. How human's navigate, and Developmental Topographical Disorientation. Several subject categories have been turned into books. So extensive new information is available on Abductions, Missing Aircraft, 406 Beacons, ATV, and Autism. Other new subject categories will also be discussed.