Search and Rescue
The Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Unit (SAR) plays a vital role in ensuring the safety and security of both citizens and visitors to El Dorado County. The SAR team consists of approximately 200 volunteers that make up seven teams including cliff operations, swift water rescue, ground team, K9, OHV and management teams.
SAR teams were kept very busy this year, both in and out of the county. There were 124 incidents in which a SAR volunteer responded to assist. Of those 124 incidences, 72 required specialized resources and 52 required full activation of the SAR unit. One of those searches involved a five year old boy who got separated from his family while riding a quad in the Mormon Emigrant Trail area. When the call went out there was an immediate response of management, mounted, K9, OHV and ground team members. A search was initiated and carried on through the night as SAR teams scoured the area looking for the lost little one. On the second day of the search he was located and returned to his family uninjured. During this search over 100 in county and out of county SAR volunteers responded to make sure this family was reunited.
SAR's assistance was also requested for seven out of county searches to include Butte, Amador, Nevada, Alpine, Tuolumne, Placer and Sacramento counties. During these searches,
El Dorado County’s SAR team not only aided in the search for the missing people, they also assisted with the management of operations at the command post.
SAR is not solely responsible for locating lost persons; they contribute to El Dorado County in several other ways. El Dorado County SAR’s Community Outreach Team presented the National Association for Search and Rescue’s Hug-a-Tree Program to over 600 children across El Dorado County in 2017. This program is designed to target youth between the ages of five and 12 and is basic training for outdoor/rural safety and survival should someone get lost.
SAR also partners with the Placerville Police Department and County Fair Officials to provide first aid and assist with lost persons throughout the duration of the county fair. During the 2017 County Fair, over 100 fair goers were provided services by SAR volunteers that consisted of care for minor cuts, heat exhaustion, dehydration and reuniting parents and children.
All of these services are provided free of charge at a considerable monetary and time cost to the volunteers. Each volunteer spends hundreds of hours training each year so that they may provide the best services available to residents and visitors of El Dorado County.
-SAR Unit Mission Statement
“Provide emergency services to citizens and visitors who are lost, stranded or injured anywhere in El Dorado County.
Provide services necessary to rescue such persons and provide them appropriate medical care: Handle all search and rescue operations in a professional manner.”
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