Robert Koester PhD

Robert J. Koester first joined the Appalachian Search & Rescue Conference in 1981 and since then has participated in hundreds of searches. He holds a PhD in search theory from the University of Portsmouth and is CEO of dbS Productions.

His contributions to search and rescue include seminal research on lost person behavior (with emphasis on dementia), the International Search and Rescue Incident Database (ISRID), a the tactical decision aid software – FIND.

A Search Mission Coordinator, instructor for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, and past president of the Virginia Search and Rescue Council (15 years), Robert has also worked for the United States Coast Guard, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Park Service, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Author of numerous books and articles on search and rescue. He has presented in Aruba, Australia, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom, and throughout the United States and Canada.