I've been in a National Guard unit which responds to approx. 20 SAR's per year. Night times we do use the FLIR. We have a great amount of experience but not a large amount of luck. Besides the pilot/observor team experience, there is also the chance that the subject may not even be near where the ground control has us searching. We have found that the FLIR is not extremely good with dense canopy coverage of trees, but its greatest benefit is in running open areas and clearing them very quickly at night. I've found the chickens roosting on the trees at 0200 a.m. but the lost person showed up along a highway 5 miles from our search area the next morning. It's only a tool and a benefit within its limitations.
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FLIR SAR by National Guard 
Image Enhancement
(Stan Nowak)
FLIR in night searches
(Will Flor, 1LT CAP)
Canadian rescue service to use FLIR
by J.T. Hibberd, 2002, Oct 17
