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NM Search and Rescue; Election Day Looms

October 30, 2025

This week on New Mexico in Focus, we head to the Cibola National Forest to show you how the almost entirely volunteer-driven New Mexico Search and Rescue shifts from the frenetic hours of looking for a live subject to the search for clues months later. 

Reporter Cailley Chella digs into how an online rumor about McCall’s Pumpkin Farm and Immigration and Customs Enforcement got started, then spread.  

Correspondent Joshua Bowling interviews and prosecutor and a public defender about so-called “Brady Lists” — ledgers of law enforcement officers who have been deemed untrustworthy witnesses for criminal trials. 

And we conclude our Albuquerque mayoral election coverage with a recap montage of the candidates describing how they would address the No. 1 issue for voters: crime and policing. 

Host: Nash Jones 

Segments: 
Training, Hunting for Clues with Volunteer-Driven NM Search and Rescue 
Correspondent: Elizabeth Miller 
Photographers: Ethan Weiner & R.J. Torres 
Producer: Jeff Proctor 
Editor: Lou DiVizio 
Guests: 
Laurie Dodge, Deputy Incident Commander, NM SAR 
Rachel Searles, Friend of Missing Woman, 911 Caller 
Robert Garcia, SAR Council President 
Robert “Bob” Rodgers, SAR Resource Officer, NM Department of Public Safety 
Mary Berry, K9 Handler, Sandia Search Dogs 
Sarah Wharton, Assistant, Sandia Search Dogs 
Indy, Search Dog 
Melvin Herrera, Cibola Search and Rescue 
Brad Berry, Drone Operator 
Steve Larese, Albuquerque Mountain Rescue; Acting Public Information Officer, NM SAR 
Tony Gaier, Incident Commander, NM SAR 
Duke Pigott, Albuquerque Mountain Rescue 

Albuquerque Mayoral Election Recap 
Host: Nash Jones 
Guests: 
Louie Sanchez, Albuquerque City Councilor, Mayoral Candidate 
Tim Keller, Albuquerque Mayor, Mayoral Candidate 
Mayling Armijo, Albuquerque Mayoral Candidate 
Alexander Uballez, Albuquerque Mayoral Candidate 
Eddie Varela, Albuquerque Mayoral Candidate 

Prosecutors’ Long-Secret Lists of Untrustworthy Cops Now Public 
Correspondent: Joshua Bowling, Independent Journalist 
Guests: 
Jason Greenlee, General Counsel, Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office 
Jonathan Ibarra, President, NM Criminal Defense Lawyers Association 

The Anatomy of an Online Rumor About McCall’s Pumpkin Farm 
Correspondent: Cailley Chella 
Guests: 
Kevin McCall, Torrance County Commissioner; Owner, McCall’s Pumpkin Farm 
Felipe Rodriguez, Co-Director, NM Dream Team