Winston County man looking to help those who have gone missing

WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A man in Winston County is helping to look for those who have gone missing. Steve Jones started Shining Light Search and Rescue as a way to help give people answers for their missing loved ones.

But he isn’t doing it alone. He has help from two of his four-legged friends.

Jones has been a volunteer firefighter for almost 30 years.

During his years of service, he has been involved in countless recovery operations – many of them involved using canine crews.

He saw the need in his own department and began training his own pet to search for those who are lost.

“If I can train a dog to hunt squirrels, rabbits, or game. Why can’t people so that clicked and the dogs I use I trained to hunt individuals,” said Jones.

His non-profit organization, Shining Light Search and Rescue, works mostly to find children or people with Alzheimer’s or dementia who have wandered off.

Jones says when he is on a call, he thinks of those missing people as if they were his own family members and he’ll try to do anything he can to find them.

“We are all brothers and sisters I don’t care who you are and I look at these people who are missing and think if I can come this is my brother this is my sister. I want to come to find them. I want to do what I can,” said Jones.

Jones’ partners Sophie and Jake are trained to follow scent trails. Those scents can lead the dogs to find people who have been lost in the woods or even buried.

He says if your loved one has gone missing it’s important to do a few things that can help his team do their job.

“I like using something that pertains to hair or sweat so like a glove or hat or with a lady a barrette and if you don’t mind try to handle it a less as possible and drop it in a bag. I for contaminate that it can make it a little tricky for me,” said Jones.

Jones says in this day and time it’s always important to remember one thing.

“Always let someone know where you are going and when you are going to be back with cell phones today. Yes, we’ve been on cases where people just disappear and are never found but let someone know where you are going,” said Jones.

Jones has started his own social media page for the organization that helps get awareness out of those who have gone missing and he even does videos to give tips if you ever get lost.

To learn more about Jones’ organization visit shininglightsearchandrescue

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