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  Main

Affiliated Search & Rescue Teams  
of Washoe County, Nevada  
P.O. Box 20012  
Reno, NV 89515-0012  







SAR members prepare to search for lost subjects during a snowstorm.


Search & Rescue in Washoe County, Nevada

Washoe County occupies approximately 6608 square miles in the northwest corner of Nevada, stretching from just north of Carson City all the way north to the Oregon border. The southwestern part of the county encompasses a portion of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Lake Tahoe. The northern half of the county is the western edge of the Black Rock desert. The Truckee River cuts through the southern portion of the county from west to east, turning north at Wadsworth, and terminating at Pyramid Lake.

(See map under Organization / Statistics)





Responsibility for search and rescue operations in the State of Nevada is the duty of the Sheriff of the county of jurisdiction. Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley utilizes teams of citizen volunteers, as auxiliary deputies, to conduct SAR missions. By using SAR volunteers, Sheriff Haley saves the taxpayers of Washoe County in excess of $993,000 dollars annually.



Our SAR volunteer team program has been nationally recognized for our volunteers' efforts, training and organization. In Washoe County, visitors and residents alike benefit from the emergency search and rescue services, for which there are no fees, due to the dedication and commitment of the hundreds of search and rescue volunteers who comprise the 7 specialized teams. Though they work side by side, these specialized teams each have very specific responsibilities during a search and rescue mission. Please take some time to visit our specialized teams homepages on the navigation bar to find out more about what they offer.


RECENT SEARCHES

May 18, 2013 - SAR staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR began responding to the Mt. Rose Summit to assist NLTFPD in locating an injured hiker reported to be one mile east of Relay Peak.  Just as teams were arriving at staging, CALSTAR located the site and transported the subject to a local hospital.

May 18, 2013 - SAR staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR responded to the Lockwood entrance to Logarmosino Canyon to search for a missing hiker.  Teams were able to locate the subject and her vehicle which had become stuck in a small pond.  Warm clothing was provided and she was transported back to staging.

May 17, 2013 - SAR staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR responded to northwest side of Peavine to search for two missing adults with an infant that had become stranded in their vehicle.  WCSO Deputies were able to locate the vehicle on foot.  SAR foot teams located the site and relieved the deputies.  Side x sides were sent in to transport the subjects and personal items from the vehicle back to staging.

May 16, 2013 - SAR teams responded to the Verdi entrance to Dog Valley to search for a plane crash in the Verdi Peak area.  As teams were arriving at staging, resources from Washoe County were cancelled due to the location of the crash site being in Sierra County, CA.

May 16, 2013 - SAR staff, Hasty Team and WCSAR were requested to conduct an evidence search in the Carson River, related to a homicide investigation.

May 13, 2013 - SAR teams were requested a second time, later in the day, to respond to the Mustang exit and conduct a thorough search of a specific area.

May 13, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR were requested to assist WCSO detectives in an evidence search at the Mustang exit of Interstate 80.

May 4, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, RAVEN, SVU and WCSAR responded to the Lockwood area to search for two lost subjects in a vehicle, reported to be in the Lagormasino Canyon area.  Search teams, with the aide of RAVEN, were able to locate the subjects and guide them safely back to staging.

May 3, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR began responding to the Cold Springs area on the report of a mountain biker who was overdue.  Before teams arrived, the subject returned to his residence.

May 3, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, RAVEN, SVU and WCSAR assisted RPD in searching for a missing Alzheimer's subject that was last seen heading west from the Home Depot in NW Reno.  Teams searched field areas west of the Home Depot on both sides of the freeway, parks to the south, streets in the area of her residence, and areas along the river.  A business at Plumas and McCaran notified RPD that a disoriented woman was in their store.  RPD responded to the business and positively identified the subject as being the missing person.

April 29, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR began responding to the Arrow Creek area to search for a missing Alzheimer's subject.  Just as SAR teams were arriving, the subject was located in another neighborhood, safe and sound.

April 21, 2013 - Just as teams were leaving the previous mission, a callout was initiated for a missing subject in the area of Lakeshore Drive in Incline Village.  The reporting party had spotted floating objects and a kayak off the beach of a private residence.  SAR teams were at the location within minutes of the callout and were able to spot the subject, just under the surface, approximately 30 yards from shore.  Hasty swimmers immediately entered the water and brought the subject to shore where NLTFPD medics, along with SAR personnel began CPR and other lifesaving measures.  Although resuscitation efforts were performed for almost 45 minutes, the subject did not survive.

April 21, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, RAVEN, SVU and WCSAR responded to a trail above Chimney Beach to assist NLTFPD in rescuing a subjec that had a boulder roll on top of him.  Teams accessed the site, which was approximately one mile from the parking lot, with equipment needed to extricate the subject.  Once the individual was safely removed from under the boulder, he was packaged for RAVEN to hoist and transport to a hospital in Reno.

April 16 - 18, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, RAVEN, SVU and WCSAR were equested to assist Lyon County, Douglas County, Civil Air Patrol, DEM, Fallon NAS Longhorns, and Nevada Air Guard in searching for an aircraft with two subjects on board that went missing on April 14th somewhere in the mountains around Wellington, NV.  Teams searched form three days before the missing aircraft was located.  Both occupants were deceased, killed on impact.

April 8, 2013 - SAR teams began responding to the Silver Knolls area on the report of a missing juvenile.  Before teams arrived, the subject was located by WCSO deputies.

April 6, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR responded to the Davis Creek Campground to search for a missing hiker.  As teams were getting ready to deploy, the subject was located at his residence in Carson City.

April 5, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR were requested to searach for two stranded mountain bikers in the Marlette Lake area.  Teams were deployed from the Spooner Lake entrance, the Ponderosa entrance to the Flume Trail, and from the Chimney Beach trail.  The subjects had encountered snow while riding from Spooner Lake, bu instead of turning around, decided to continue their journey, becoming extremely tired due to walking their bikes in deep snow.  Teams located the subjects, gave them food, wate and dry clothing, and safely escorted them to the Ponderosa entrance to the Flume Trail.

March 20, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR assisted Storey County in searching for a deceased subject in the Lagomarsino Canyon area.  The subject's truck had been located approximately nine months previous, in that area, but a missing person report was not filed until recently.  No evidence of the subject was located.

March 13, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR responded to the Sheeps Flat area to assist NLTFPD in locating a victim of a snowmobile crash.  The subject was located by NLTFPD snowmobiles on a very steem hillside in the area of Relay Peak.  SAR personnel responded to the site to assist in the transportation of the subject to a location where Careflight could land.  Before SAR teams arrived at the site, the subject was moved ot a location where Careflight could land and transport the subject to a local hospital.

February 27, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR responded to the Jumbo Grade area to search for a subject and his vehicle that had become stuck in deep snow.  With the use of cell phone coordinates, the subject was located fairly quickly on the north side of McClellan Peak and transported safely down to staging.

February 23, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR responded to the Black Rock Desert to locate a stuck vehicle with three occupants.  One of the occupants had gotten a ride to Gerlach to request help.  He stated that the car was near Double Hot Springs.  Search teams were able to locate the vehicle and subjects who had become stuck in the mud during a snowstorm the night before - about 24 hours previous.  The vehicle was extricated from its predicament and escorted safely back across the playa to SR 34.

February 17, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR responded to the Hungry Valley area on the report of a dirt bike rider who was involved in a crash.  Careflight had located the scene, landed, and pronounced the subject deceased.  SAR teams located the site and transported the victim out of the area.

February 16, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR began responding to the area of Spanish Springs High School to search for a subject that had walked away from a campfire, but was not dressed for the temperatures.  Before teams arrived, the subject was located by WCSO deputies.

February 16, 2013 - SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU and WCSAR were requested to assist NHP in locating a victim of an auto accident somewhere in the Interstate 80 corridor between Fernley and Reno.  As teams were entering the area, the subject was located in California.

 



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