Saving 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.

Every SCVSAR mission is performed free of charge.

Our continued operation relies primarily on the private donations of businesses and individuals.

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Our Stories

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 […]

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 […]

Jeff 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 […]

John 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 […]

Dan Merrifield awarded SARVAC Adult Achievement Award

Our very own Dan Merrifield was awarded the SARVAC Adult Achievement Award!

Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue and Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office hosted visitors from Canada at Taylor’s Landing

Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue and Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office hosted visitors from Canada at Taylor’s Landing today under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

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.

WASARCON

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 […]

Fall 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 […]