By JENN McDOWELL 

The search for a missing Hooksett man could have been a lot more difficult without new technology said Allenstown Police Chief Shaun Mulholland.

Searchers looking for any sign of Russell Bussiere, 70, in Bear Brook State Park earlier this month used global positioning satellite, or GPS, devices and a high-tech mapping system to comb a 10-square-mile area for more than a week.

Bussiere went missing on Sunday, Dec. 2, while hunting in the state park. He failed to meet his son, Michael Bussiere, at a planned location, and the family called authorities around 2:30 p.m.

Hundreds of mutual aid and civilian volunteers showed up to help look for Bussiere, many of them hunters, ski patrol or emergency workers. Family members also participated actively in the search.

The National Guard’s Black Hawk helicopter was not able to get up in the air until two days later, Dec. 4, due to the poor weather conditions.

People at the ends of each line of 12 to 14 searchers had GPS devices to track the lines progress onto a map, plotting the points the searchers had covered.

The map was used to determine where gaps may have occurred that day so teams could cover that ground the next day, Mulholland said.

Rough terrain made it difficult to stay in a single line at times, and several searchers had to be taken out of the woods because their clothes had become damp and cold, which further complicated the line searches.

The map centers around the last point of transmission from the GPS Bussiere had with him and spanned a two-and-a-half-mile radius.

At any point from that last location reading, Mulholland said, Bussiere could have walked 2.5 miles and hit a road.

The GPS points were plotted on a map using different colors for each team, further attempting to ensure that search teams had not missed anything.

At one point, a searcher found a pair of gloves and immediately turned them over to Fish and Game officials in charge of the search for Bussiere. Fish and Game Lt. Kevin Jordan said that was a testament to the thoroughness of the search and the diligence of volunteers.

After several days of searching, authorities announced their frustration and doubt that Russell Bussiere would be found alive, especially after the storm and consecutive nights of chilling temperatures.

With layers of snow now covering the search area, Michael Bussiere said he will take search teams out to the park throughout the winter in search of his father, but does not hold out hope of finding him before the spring.

Mulholland said that the most likely theory for Bussiere’s disappearance and probable death is a medical event in which Bussiere may have been incapacitated.

There was no evidence of foul play and no indication that Bussiere planned to dissappear. Michael Bussiere said he and his father had plans to go hunting on the next day, Dec. 3, and it was evident this wasn’t set up, Mulholland said.

Michael Bussiere said they were actually looking forward to the snow because deer tracks would be more visible.

“We suspect that he’s still up in the park,” Mulholland said. “We would like to, obviously, bring closure to this for the sake of the family.”