Amanda Lefton:

We briefly spoke in Newcomb when my friend’s body was airlifted from the Adirondack backcountry. The state Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers “Week in Review” dated July 2 stated Assistant Forest Ranger Brendan Jackson passed away while camping. I would like to add that AFR Jackson passed away in the backcountry at Duck Hole in the middle of his work week for the NYS DEC Ranger Division.

Assistant Forest Ranger Jackson often worked in remote areas with no cell service, but friends became worried about the length of his non-contact. On Saturday, June 14, around 10 p.m., I privately messaged three rangers we know in common to inquire about the safety and location of AFR Jackson, who was last known to be at work.

I called DEC Ray Brook dispatch at 10:23 p.m. and inquired if AFR Jackson had been signing in and out of work. There was a pause, a place on hold and a response that indicated they did not know and would pass my information on to his supervisor.

I received a personal phone call from one ranger I messaged at 11:03 p.m. confirming Jackson’s last contact with dispatch was Saturday, June 7, at 7:22 p.m., stating he was camped at Duck Hole. It is my understanding that two rangers were briefed and dispatched in the early morning hours of Father’s Day. AFR Jackson’s body was found roughly before 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 15 at a campsite at Duck Hole, over a week after his last communication with DEC dispatch. When I arrived in Newcomb to meet the incident commander and many other rangers, they asked if I could help verify AFR Jackson’s emergency contact information because they were “having trouble locating his personnel file.”

When AFR Jackson “signed out interior” at dispatch, it meant he was still in the field and dispatch should expect a radio call the next morning when he resumed active duty. AFR Jackson did not call in to service on Sunday morning. He did not call out of service Sunday evening. He did not call in service Monday morning. He did not call out of service Monday evening, etc. Based on his regular work schedule, AFR Jackson was expected — and failed — to call dispatch 11 times before I tried to verify his location and wellbeing.

In a high-stakes law enforcement backcountry environment, how does DEC not know a staff member is missing? Or dead? For over a week.

The first grave consequence to this error is that his family and loved ones were not able to see his face one last time to say goodbye. If there were better protocols in place, his body would have been recovered in a timely manner. The second is that he has no known cause of death. His body was in such poor condition the initial forensic autopsy was inconclusive. Examining tissue samples may or may not lead to any resolution and may take six months or longer. This has caused his family and loved ones more harm at a difficult time.

In addition, the two rangers who recovered AFR Jackson’s body had to deal with mushy flesh and fluids and smells that are haunting, exposing those rescuers to unnecessary trauma.

I am sharing this letter to you because I would like the public to understand DEC’s negligence in leaving AFR Jackson’s body to decompose, unaccounted for in the backcountry for several days, knowing his last location during his work week. Mistakes happen, even if you were warned about this exact potential outcome, and I would like to see a commitment for effective policy change.

Based on my research of other dispatch policies, this was 100% preventable. After completing a needs assessment of qualified field professionals, I am calling on you to adopt policy changes that support backcountry employees in the future to include but not limited to:

¯ Treat dispatch as an emergency response system and provide resources for them to be effective. Adopt and utilize effective staff tracking software that will track the call log of rangers that cannot be manipulated, and will flag call out interiors for follow up regardless of shift changes, multiple searches etc. AFR Jackson claimed he was often referenced in dispatch emails related to the need for adopting new tracking software as his job included call out interiors regularly, but this software was not implemented. Adopt and utilize a call-in check-in protocol with a mandatory call in and out times to include flagging active duty outside those hours and continued safety checks in extended check time blocks.

¯ Develop a seasonal assistant forest ranger program that utilizes AFRs primarily for public education and rescue prevention. Create a seasonal AFR coordinator position that is responsible for communicating with the rangers, assigning AFRs to specific areas of need and supervising AFRs throughout the season to lift the burden off the rangers. New seasonal DEC assistant forest rangers complete one week of training before traveling to their assigned area for the season. Rangers often do not have the capacity to manage and develop new seasonal staff.

¯ Provide ranger infrastructure and rescue resources. Often, as in the case with AFR Jackson’s body, rangers deal with bodily fluids like blood or decaying body matter when they are involved in a rescue. Body fluids often permeate their clothing and gear, and rangers often wash their clothes and gear at home. They report having to use personal gear to keep them safe on rescues. Create a Rescue Resource Center equipped with standard issue gear, extra clothes, clothes washing machines, and gear repair and washing station so rangers can debrief and transition to off-duty status properly.

We have collected over 4,400 signatures since July 7 to support policy change through the “Honor Brendan Jackson” petition on Change.org. I expect to hear from you, and for you to communicate to the public, about the exact actions you have taken to prevent this tragedy from happening in the future.

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Danielle Carr is a mental health counselor and lives in Saranac Lake. She is a boy mom and adventure friend of the best human ever for over 18 years.