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Howard Lucus
I just sent you a donation because your last newsletter sent me down memory lane. About 60 years ago, I was a member of Explorer Search and Rescue, a bunch of teenage kids that assisted Mountain Search and Rescue and […]
Read MoreSaving lives in Snohomish County and beyond
Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue (SCVSAR) is an all-volunteer organization delivering emergency response to those in need across the county’s urban and wilderness areas. Our dedicated members come to the aid of anyone lost or injured wherever they might be. We find children, search for lost people with dementia, mental health issues, and developmental challenges, respond to major disasters, and perform life-saving first aid and CPR. We support the Snohomish County Sheriff and other Law Enforcement Agencies in evidence searches.
Who We Are
SCVSAR has over 300 dedicated members. We perform more than 120 life-saving missions each year, logging over 9,500 hours of service. Our capabilities include helicopter rescue, 4x4 rescue, wilderness and urban search, K-9, horseback, swift-water, mountain recovery, and emergency first aid.
We operate in coordination with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office and the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management. We assist rescue agencies throughout the state.
In an emergency, always dial 911.
Our Stories
Debra Draper
I first started when the Oso slide happened. I had a very dear friend of mine that lost his brother in the slide, and just being a person of the community I had to do something to help. The first […]
Read MoreJeff Hollowell
I moved to Washington in November 2007 and shortly after I started getting into hiking and mountaineering. I was a relatively new hiker, just learning about the mountains and gear and navigation and on June 21 2009 I went hiking […]
Read MoreJohn McKeon
“Three Teens Trapped on Three Fingers Mountain” the news read back on Tuesday evening through Wednesday evening, August 26-27, 2008. Those were the “best-worst days” of our lives, since one of those teens was ours (and another we had custody […]
Read MoreOur Blog
Where on Earth is Sam Sayers?
Sometime in the morning of a bluebird August day, a Seattle woman picked up a pencil and wrote her name on the register at a trailhead off the Mountain Loop Highway. The paper is there to log the hikers on Sunrise Mine Trail #707, a route that winds to the top of Vesper Peak. Her scrawl is the last concrete sign of the 27-year-old day hiker whose disappearance launched one of the biggest search and rescue operations in the state’s history.
Read MoreWASARCON
TIME IS GROWING SHORT – SIGN UP NOW! If you have not signed up for any of the pre-conference classes, please contact the instructors to check on space to attend. K-9 Pre-Conference Classes K-9 HRD Land and Water – Contact […]
Read MoreFall 2018 – President’s Letter
From January through September of 2018, Snohomish County Volunteer Search & Rescue members have been called out on 111 missions amounting to 16,754 hours of volunteer community service. We are 100% volunteers; we have no staff and not one of […]
Read MoreSCVSAR is Now Utilizing Drones
Beginning in late 2017, SCVSAR started to assemble a new team to enable the use of drones, which are more formally known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s), as a new tool to help with searches and other missions supported by […]
Read MoreSnohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue and HRT Provide Mutual Aid to Injured Kittitas County Hiker
On September 4th, Jocelyn and Keshala were hiking in the wooded hills near Rachel Lake in Kittitas County. Jocelyn slipped on the trail and fell, landing fifty feet below at the base of a small waterfall. Keshala scrambled down to […]
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