An intensive search in Churchill Forest has come to a happy ending, with 37-year-old Yitzchak Tobol being found safe and sound in neighboring Ben Keshet Forest.
The search was led by the Israel Dog Unit, a volunteer organization specializing in search and rescue. The organization says that they used specially trained working dogs, advanced UAVs with thermal imaging capabilities, and the IDU’s patented digital investigative techniques to track the search effort and locate places of interest to the searchers. A large-scale social media effort was also mounted to distribute the missing person’s picture and raise awareness of the incident.
As the incident gained publicity, other organizations joined the effort, including volunteer off-road vehicle brigades and the Israel National Police’s horseback units and helicopters. Hundreds of residents of nearby Nof HaGalil and Nazareth took it upon themselves to search city streets, promote the incident on social media, and help build a list of places to be searched.
Under Rabbinical guidance and in light of the apparent risk of harm to the missing person, search efforts were started on Shabbat. They came to an end nearly thirty-six hours later, when Tobol was recovered alive and well from Ben Keshet Forest.