Updated: Sat Nov. 07 2009 18:16:02

ctvwinnipeg.ca

More than 60 members of the Winnipeg Police Service and the Search and Rescue Manitoba team spent time sharpening their skills Saturday.

The exercise focused on how to respond when an elderly person goes missing and enters a residential or river bank area.

The incident was staged but teams acted as if the person really went missing. They scoured a Winnipeg neighbourhood in search of an elderly woman who left a nearby home.

More than 100 people living close to the training site also took part in the exercise, providing rescue crews with information on the missing woman.

Search and rescue volunteers will take the skills gained through the exercise and apply it in their communities. They may also be called on to participate in search efforts in other parts of Manitoba.

- with a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley