AUBURN - While most of Cayuga County was still asleep or just waking up at 6 a.m. Monday, John Laury had already been hard at work for two hours.

His task may have been simple, but it wasn't easy. Find and record signs of the homeless in and around Auburn.

Armed with nothing more than a flashlight and a map, Laury led the way through a patch of woods along the Owasco River.

He had already found a promising site. A few pieces of scrap wood were set up around an old stone wall to act as seats and a table, and some cans and other pieces of litter were scattered around the “dining room.”

But there were no live fires, and a spool of line on the table made it seem that this could have been someone's fishing hole. Laury walked further into the woods, disappearing in the early morning darkness, before returning a minute later.

No signs anyone had been sleeping around there.

“I think we can call this a dead spot,” Laury said to Ron Goldberg and Mark Conti before they walked back to the car.

“We're getting too far from the downtown,” Conti said.

The men were three of more than 15 people who volunteered in the morning to participate in the Auburn/Cayuga County Homeless Task Force's annual summer count.

Through the count, volunteers attempt to get a snapshot of how many homeless individuals live in the county. The effort involves two ground canvasses, one from 4 to 6 a.m. and another from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Groups of three searched through wooded areas and abandoned buildings throughout the city and recorded encounters with or recent signs of homeless individuals.

Laury, Goldberg and Conti did not come across any people during the morning. But they did find a site under a bridge with evidence of current use - fire pits, food and piles of clothing.

The task force has carried out the annual count for about five years, said Liz Werner, deputy executive director for Unity House of Cayuga County and one of the organizers. Every other year, the group conducts a second count In January.

Local agencies that receive federal funding are required to collect the data. In the county, Options for Independence, the Seneca-Cayuga Community Action Agency and the Auburn Housing Authority all get money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

But despite the mandates, the information is helpful for local groups that provide services to the homeless population. The survey provides evidence that the population exists at all in this community, Werner said.

“A homeless population in a small, rural community is very different than a homeless population in a larger city,” she said. “It is not as visible here as it is other places. But it's there.”

The task force's January 2007 count estimated 98 vulnerable men, women and children, which was down from 135 individuals recognized in January 2005.

The results of this survey will likely take at least a few days, Werner said. Along with the two foot counts, she and co-organizer Barb Bowen carried out administrative counts in which they retrieved information through local churches, soup kitchens and shelters.

Amanda Wetherbee, family development director of the Seneca-Cayuga Community Action Agency, said the data retrieved through the administrative search is important. While they often see evidence and traces, the on-foot volunteers rarely actually find homeless individuals, she said. Monday morning's counters talked to one person.

That's because the individuals usually don't want to be found out of fear of the authorities, Wetherbee said. While advertisements and word of mouth guarantee volunteers each year, they also put the word out that a group will be combing the city on a specific date.

“It's like a Catch-22,” Wetherbee said.

With the dim gray brightening by the minute in the eastern sky, Laury wanted to try one more spot before calling it a day. This time they stopped at the toppled remnants of what was likely once a mill.

Laury carefully stepped along boulders and bricks, over some old, empty cans of Genesee Beer and past a motionless water wheel. After crossing under the remains of a doorway, he looked to his left and found what was probably once a closet.

Sheet metal had been placed over the top of the concrete walls, and wooden crates on the ground making a cozy little shelter. But the room - no more than six feet by six feet - was otherwise empty.

“The truth is, this is not a bad spot,” Laury said. “Somebody was here, but not very recently. It's a place to keep an eye on.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.