捜す

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 捜す (さがす) adds okurigana す to searching 捜, forming a transitive verb.
• Basic usage: It describes police looking across a town for stolen art and rescuers searching mountains for a missing person.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• An active search for an unknown location
  • 捜す implies the target's whereabouts are not known and effort is required to locate it.