Laura Pettler & Associates

25/10/2026

Some systems make an impression. Ours lights up the and the courtroom. 💚

Congratulations to Chile and Malaysia, the two newest countries to Go Kaleido! 🇨🇱🇲🇾 Welcome to our ever-growing international Kaleidoscope community.

If you’re new to LPA, meet Dr. Pettler’s incredible Kaleidoscope System. Used to reconstruct shooting incidents, Kaleidoscope’s unmistakable green glow travels through our proprietary hollow dowel rods, creating a presence that’s impossible to ignore. It draws a crowd wherever we demonstrate it, and it’s been getting the world’s attention since 2009. Take a look at the kits , and come see us at our next conference demonstration to experience it firsthand.

Where should Kaleidoscope go next? Drop your comments below.

25/10/2026

A SEARCHER FINDS A JACKET NEAR A CREEK, picks it up, and carries it back to command hoping it will help find the missing person. But what information was lost when that jacket was moved? Where it was lying, how it was positioned, and what was around it may be just as important as the jacket itself, and we cannot put those details back once they’re gone.

In this week’s article in The Briefing Room, I’m discussing how a search clue can become forensic evidence and why what we do in those first moments matters. This connection between search operations and death investigation is part of what we teach in LPA’s Mounted Forensic Operations System program as we prepare for our November NASAR academy. Article 3 of our "Before the Search" series in The Briefing Room Blog is available now, and we’ll put the link in the comments. 💙

A Search Clue Can Become Evidence
2026 Fall SAR Series
Before the Search: The Briefing Room | SAR Series Fall 2026
Article 3 of 7

22/10/2026

VOTE The NOTORIOUS B.O.B.!
8 hours left! Help
Bob raise money for other animals!

THANK YOU Roger Hardy, April Jones, Jean Curtit, , Lex, Julie Sprague, Nancy Cooper, MaryAnn Dillen, Donna Newell, Stephen Thornthwaite, Michelle Talley, Koren Daniels, Sabrina Helms Gast, Elizabeth Campbell, Christine Cilli, Suzanna Ulery Ryan, Kelly Parmer Mattei, Brittney Householder, Liz Garner, Paiger Swift, Shana Hirsch, Rebecca Wilkison VanTassel,
Jennifer Hale, Melinda Buch, Shelly Tuccinard Liller, , , Kelly Williams, Alvaro Graciano, Donnie McFall, and all the Anonymous donors, THANK YOU! Thank you for your support this morning Lisa Ribacoff xx.

Friends, less than 10 hours left to help Bob help other animals in the Animal Shelter Photo Contest. Bob has 1,005 votes. He leads by only four votes. If you can spare $5 in donation to the Animal Shelter that would help Bob help others!

Link is in the comments!
DrLaura Pettler XR Crossroads Ranch

21/10/2026

🐾BOB GOES TO REHAB
Vote for Bob!
Bob was in the lead until last night! Thank you to everyone who’s supported Bob so far and other shelter animals with your votes. We have one day left in the contest, and we’d love your help getting him back to first place! Votes are $1 each, and every vote supports spcaLA and the animals still waiting for homes. Please consider a vote for this little dog who brings so many smiles to so many people. Uncle Paul and I appreciate all your support! 💙🐾

Link gogophotocontest.com/spcala/entries/696449

17/10/2026

NASAR FUNSAR 2nd Edition CHAPTER 5: FITNESS
No One Left Behind

Before we head to the hospital to take care of Uncle Paul, Bob and I got out for our daily SAR training exercise! We’re getting ready for the November NASAR Search & Rescue Academy, and we've been working on building strength and endurance a little at a time.

Today I started out carrying 26 pounds in my pack, Bob just carries his vest lol. Then Bob apparently decided he’d had enough walking and wanted a ride! Since he weighs about 10 pounds, I ended up training with 36 pounds on my back! Thanks Bob Paul Pettler! 😂

One thing I’ve been thinking about as we prepare for the Academy is how important physical fitness is in search and rescue, even for us mounties. We need to be able to walk long distances, navigate difficult terrain, carry our equipment, and keep going when we’re tired. I'm certainly NOT TRYING TO BECOME SOME ELITE ATHLETE LOL gosh no, but I do want to be physically prepared, capable of doing my part, and a person my teammates can count on.

So here Bob and I are encouraging everyone who’s preparing for the Academy to keep at it! We all have different fitness levels, different schedules, (I have plenty of limitations lol), and different responsibilities. I definitely can't do everything at once. Just getting out there, moving our bodies, challenge ourselves a little, to build on what we did yesterday. Every bit of effort counts! (To Note: Yesterday I made it only twice around the block...not good).

I’d love to hear from our experienced SAR folks. How do you maintain your fitness and prepare for the physical demands of a search? What advice would you give those of us just getting started?

I’m really looking forward to going through this experience with everyone, learning together, and cheering each other on!

In the meantime, I think Bob has decided his contribution to my training program is adding an extra 10 pounds whenever he feels like it. 😂❤️

16/10/2026

When someone goes missing, “Where were they last seen?” is one of the first questions we ask, but we also need to know who provided that information, what they actually observed, and how they established the time. Someone reporting where a person planned to go is different from someone seeing them there, and that distinction matters when search teams are making decisions about where to look.

This week in The Briefing Room, I’m discussing why we need to examine the information supporting a last known point and remain willing to revise our understanding when the evidence changes. This is the second article in our Before the Search series leading up to our inaugural NASAR Search & Rescue Academy at LPAIFI in Monroe, North Carolina, November 15–22. We’ve welcomed so many new people from the SAR community to this page recently, and I’m looking forward to sharing more of our work with you. -Dr. Laura 💙

Read on our website or copy paste the link in the comments.

14/10/2026

He’s not a SAR dog. He’s not solving homicides. But he has a very important job at LPA: taking care of the people who do. 🐾💙

Meet LPA’s mascot, Bob Paul Pettler.

Picked up as a stray by the SPCA, Bob now brings smiles and emotional support to everyone at LPA, our friends in the mounted police, in the civilian search and rescue community, along with daily visits to his 90-year-old uncle and other elderly patients at a rehabilitation hospital. He’s a little dog with a big heart who’s built his own fan club complete with Everybody Loves Bob stickers!

Now Bob is giving back to the shelter that gave him his second chance. He’s competing in the spcaLA photo contest to raise money for animals still waiting for homes.

Bob is currently in THIRD PLACE with 195 votes, and the leader has more than 300. LPA friends, let’s close that gap!

Please vote for Bob if you’re able, and share this post to help spread the word. This isn’t about just getting our little mascot to the top it’s about helping more animals find safety, care, and people who love them as much as we love Bob.

Everybody loves Bob. Let’s turn that love into something good for others. 💙


Vote for Bob here, look for his photo:
https://www.gogophotocontest.com/spcala/search

Show your support for spcaLA by voting for Bob in 150 Years of Friends for Life

11/10/2026

THE MOST IMPORTANT SURVIVAL TOOL ISN’T IN YOUR PACK. IT’S YOUR MIND. 💥

While studying for my NASAR SARTECH II certification tonight, I came across a passage about the psychological challenges of survival that immediately caught my attention.

As a forensic criminologist, I spend a great deal of time studying human behavior, decision-making, victimology, and the psychological factors that influence people’s actions under extraordinary circumstances.

And this is precisely why I believe forensic psychology has an important place in search and rescue.

When someone goes missing, we naturally begin thinking about geography, terrain, weather, search patterns, and the resources needed to locate them.

But there is another critical element of the search. The psychology of the missing person. How might fear influence their decisions? What happens when panic overrides rational thinking? How might exhaustion, disorientation, trauma, or a perceived threat affect their behavior?

Why might someone continue moving when remaining in place would be safer? Why might another person hide, avoid rescuers, or travel in a direction that seems completely illogical to everyone searching for them?

Forensic psychology offers a framework for examining behavior, motivation, perception, and decision-making. Combined with victimology, investigative information, established lost-person behavior research, and sound search management, these perspectives can help us develop and evaluate hypotheses about where a missing person may have gone and why.

But we must be careful not to confuse a behavioral hypothesis with an established fact.

The terrain tells us where someone could go. Understanding human behavior helps us consider why they might go there. Neither replaces the other.

Search and rescue is about far more than navigating the wilderness. It is about finding a human being whose decisions may be influenced by circumstances we cannot yet see or fully understand.

And sometimes, understanding those decisions can be just as important as understanding the landscape. I’m going to start with studying my own mind if I were lost. 😊

SAR professionals: How much attention does your training give to the psychological and behavioral factors influencing missing persons?

I’d love to hear your perspectives.
-Dr. Laura

10/10/2026

For those who serve in SAR: What is the most important information you want confirmed before your team deploys?

When someone goes missing, of course every minute matters. The instinct is to immediately get boots on the ground, K9 teams moving, and searchers into the field.

But before we decide where to search, we need to ask a critical question: What do we actually know?

The last confirmed sighting isn't necessarily the last reported location. An assumption isn't evidence. And sending a well-trained search team in the wrong direction can cost valuable time. Sending undertrained volunteers can often be worse.

In the first article of our new seven-part, Before the Search, series in, The Briefing Room, we explore how investigative thinking, victimology, and sound search planning work together before the first team enters the woods.

Whether you serve in K9, in ground search, mounted, or search management, this conversation is an important one.

Read the complete article in The Briefing Room at LauraPettler.com. Link in the comments...

01/07/2026

🚨 ENROLLMENT IS NOW OPEN! 🚨

Laura Pettler & Associates International Forensics Institute (LPAIFI) is proud to announce that enrollment is now open for the LPAIFI's inaugural NASAR® FUNSAR®, SARTECH II®, and Wilderness First Aid Search & Rescue Academy at Crossroads Ranch.

Join us to train in one of the most comprehensive, nationally accredited and internationally recognized hands-on search and rescue academies available. Whether you're beginning your SAR journey or preparing to become a mission-ready responder, NASAR's academy is designed for you to provide the knowledge, skills, and confidence you need in the field and defensible in court.

Is This Academy Right for You? NASAR's academy is ideal for:

🟢 Current Search & Rescue team members seeking NASAR certification
🟢 Firefighters
🟢 EMS professionals
🟢 Law enforcement officers
🟢 Emergency management personnel
🟢 Park rangers and conservation officers
🟢 K-9 handlers and mounted search and rescue teams
🟢 CERT members
🟢 Outdoor professionals, guides, and outfitters
🟢 Disaster response volunteers
🟢 Individuals interested in becoming Search & Rescue volunteers
🟢 Anyone who wants to develop life-saving wilderness survival and search skills

This Academy experience includes a trifecta of courses bundled into one 7-day long academy and includes:

✅ 45-hour NASAR® FUNSAR®/SARTECH II® Instructor-Led Academy
✅ 16-hour Wilderness First Aid Certification
✅ Classroom instruction and realistic field exercises
✅ Premium Academy Student Handbook
✅ Access to the LPAIFI Student Portal
✅ Exclusive graduate benefit: complimentary enrollment in the LPAIFI online course, Introduction to Death Investigation for Search and Rescue Personnel (Estimated Value: $195)
✅ A week in the classroom and out on the land of Crossroads Ranch Gypsy Vanner Horse Farm nestled in the beautiful piedmont of North Carolina

Learn from NASAR's Outstanding Instructional Team:

⭐ Brad Dennis
NASAR Lifetime Member • Former NASAR Board Director • NASAR Instructor of the Year • Search Manager • K-9 Evaluator

⭐ Jimmie Canfield
NASAR Lifetime Member • Former NASAR Board Director • NASAR Instructor of the Year • Senior NASAR Instructor • K-9 Evaluator • Nearly 50 Years of Search & Rescue Experience

Hosted by:
Laura Pettler & Associates International Forensics Institute (LPAIFI) at Crossroads Ranch, Monroe, North Carolina.

📅 November 15-22, 2026

Enrollment is intentionally limited to provide an exceptional instructor-to-student ratio and maximize hands-on learning.

👉 Pre-enroll today: https://www.lpaifi.com/
- Download the Academy Flyer
- Download the NASAR's Academy Registration Instructions

We look forward to welcoming you to Crossroads Ranch this November! RV Hookups 30/50amp available!