Finding missing people

May 29, 2025

Duckmaloi resident Dan Pritchard has an unusual job - he locates missing people. What makes his work more unusual is that he is very specialised - he looks for and finds missing people who are in vehicles under water. Some of these are accidents, some possibly suicides, some with no explanation at all. What they have in common is that the person and their vehicle went missing at the same time and can't be located in the usual places - cars dumped in forests, for example. They have just disappeared.

Dan Pritchard goes Exploring with a Mission.

Dan spent many years as a police officer, and when he left the force he saw a need for this specific kind of search, and his long experience as a diver led him to look under water.

He is equipped for bodies of water of varying sizes, with a large boat (with recovery crane and other equipment), a kayak and even a small remote controlled boat towing a sonar unit. As well as finding missing people in cars, he also helps with recovering rubbish (like dumped tyres) that disfigures the bottom of lakes.

A big boat with all the gear.

A sonar equipped kayak.

Just what you need to look under water when other boats are too big.

When everything is ready to go out searching.

You might think that Dan's work would be part of some government funded search and rescue operation, but it isn't. He funds it out of his own pocket plus the occasional donation. You can find out much more about Explore with a Mission at their web site where there are links to videos and also somewhere where you can make a donation.

This is an amazing effort for what looks like only a two-man operation, and they need all the help you can give.

As they say on their site:

At Exploring with a Mission (EWAM), we are driven by one purpose: to bring closure to families who have waited far too long for answers. Through powerful stories of recovery and resilience, we aim to inspire and remind others that even the most difficult mysteries can be solved with determination, compassion, and the right tools.

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