Parkersburg Police Dept. looking to get a maximum of 300 volunteers for the Gretchen Fleming search

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - With the Gretchen Fleming search taking place this Saturday, Parkersburg police is looking to get many volunteers.

Parkersburg police chief, Matt Board says that the department is looking for a maximum of three hundred able-bodied volunteers -- who are at least 18 years old -- for Saturday’s search.

Board says this number so that the Mountaineer Area Rescue Group will not be overwhelmed with an extreme number of people when breaking up into teams for the search. Interested parties should arrive to the police station no later than 9:30 in the morning and should dress accordingly for strenuous work in rugged, wooded terrain such as durable outerwear and hiking boots.

Parkersburg detective, James Zimmerman says that the location will be disclosed to the volunteers that will be present for the search.

“We will meet here at the police department. And then from there we will disclose the location that we are going. And Mountaineer Area Rescue Group will be providing team leaders and they’ll be in charge of each group. Depending on how many volunteers we do have,” says Zimmerman. “And I assume that we will have a lot of volunteers showing up Saturday.”

Zimmerman says that those who are asking if they can bring any other supplies -- such as side-by-sides -- or horses and K9′s.

Zimmerman and the department say that this won’t be necessary as the rescue group already has enough supplies available for the search this Saturday.

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