Subject: Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue

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 today under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

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 our members is paid. We are reaching out to you because we cannot do this alone. We need your financial support. With your help, we will replace specialized safety equipment to keep our rescuers safe in steep terrain. With your help, we will be able to repair our specialized hoist system on the rescue helicopter so that we can give aid to critically injured persons in hazardous wilderness areas. With your help, we will continue to support advanced training to improve our search and rescue skills. With your help, we will be better prepared to save lives. Take a moment right now to send a generous contribution of $50, $100 or more to help us save lives. We are not a government agency – we are primarily funded by people like you! Your help makes you part of our lifesaving team! Please consider establishing a legacy endowment to provide enduring support to SCVSAR – so “That Others May Live!” Sincerely […]

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 SCVSAR. The new team has been structured to follow policies that have been put in place by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office on the use of UAV’s, and SCVSAR received an official go ahead to begin utilizing UAV’s on missions in March of this year. Part of the policy that was put in place requires that the individuals who will be piloting the UAV’s be compliant with FAA regulations, which require that they pass an FAA-mandated test in addition to passing both a written and a flight test within SCVSAR. To date, SCVSAR has approved seven individuals through the pilot approval process and these are known as Remote Pilots in Command or RPIC’s. SCVSAR has deployed UAV’s on over nine missions so far this year, and on each of these missions the UAV’s are showing significant value by enabling the search of areas too difficult or too hazardous for members of our ground teams to search. In addition, we are […]

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 reach Jocelyn, who was unconscious, bleeding and partially in the water. Keshala pulled Jocelyn from the water and, with no cell phone service, she ran down trail looking for reception. During her descent, Keshala came upon another hiker who activated his Personal Location Beacon (PLB). The hiker went with Keshala to assist Jocelyn until more help arrived. Members of Kittitas County SAR, Kittitas Medic One and Snoqualmie Pass Fire hiked in. They provided initial care, including getting Jocelyn on a backboard and placing IVs. The initial examination confirmed she had sustained multiple critical injuries. Since hiking out, even with a wheeled stretcher, would take hours, Snohomish County’s Helicopter Rescue Team was called to help. The crew of Snohomish County SnoHawk 10 hoisted Jocelyn 150 feet through a clearing in the trees. Jocelyn received additional medical care during the thirty-minute transport to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Thanks to the speedy transport by Search and Rescue and excellent medical care at […]

We’ve had major changes for Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue with personnel movement in the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office SAR leadership since the last newsletter. With the retirement of Sergeant Danny Wikstrom and the career move of Sergeant Scot Fenter, Sergeant John Adams will be picking up the reins. These changes were the first in a very long time and brought out a variety of emotions. As with any change in circumstances, our SAR volunteers masterfully reviewed the situation, addressed any concerns, and became resolute in our support of the decisions these fine men made. Amidst all of the change and recognition of service, there was a lingering feeling of loss that was so eloquently addressed by Mike Loney, one of our senior and very sage members. As many members were lamenting loss, Mike spoke of how we are to carry on by recognizing what has been given to us by the experiences we’ve had, the support we’ve been provided, the friendship, and the camaraderie. I invite you to read Mike’s tribute and to remember that you, our public support, are also a big part of what makes Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue what it is. Each time you […]

Sgt. John Q. Adams has been with the Snohomish County Sheriff since he left the U.S. Marine Corps in 1996. John served 10 years as a patrol deputy in South Snohomish County and was promoted to Master Patrol Deputy while there. He has served in Property Crimes, as a member of SWAT and as a Dive Team member. He is also a member of Everett Mountain Rescue. John has a strong interest in the wilderness of Snohomish County and began preparing to apply for the SAR Sargent position before it was open. He went on a few missions to get to know how SAR operated, learn policies and be ready when the job opened. This year our SAR Sargent for the last 22+ years, Sgt. Danny Wikstrom, retired. Sgt. Adams was ready and applied for the position. He received his appointment to SAR Sargent in February and is ready just in time for the 2018 rescue season. We look forward to working with Sgt. Adams!

On March 24, 2018, several hundred friends and colleagues came together to honor and recognize Sgt. Danny Wikstrom and his many years of service to our community. Here is just some of his story, along with a very moving tribute from a long-time search and rescue volunteer. Danny was raised in Sequim, WA and he joined the Sheriff Explorers there at age 14. At 18 years of age he became a dispatcher and reserve police officer with the Sequim Police Dept. One day his friend and fellow officer said he was going to take the exam to apply to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office for work. He said Danny should come along and apply as well. Danny asked, “Where is Snohomish County?” His friend said near Everett. Then Danny asked, “Where is Everett?” and his friend said near Seattle. Off they both went to take the exam, and both were hired. Now 35 years later Danny is retiring from law enforcement, with about 21+ of those years spent with Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue. It would take a book to tell you about Danny’s career with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. We will take editorial license and condense it. […]

We were both honored and humbled to attend the 10th Annual Tulalip Tribes Raising Hands Celebration of Community Service where SCVSAR was featured! #TulalipTribes #RaisingHands #SearchAndRescue #ThatOthersMayLive

  Along with three friends, all of us but one, retired physicians, I hiked into the Enchantments via the Snow Creek route where we spent the night at one of the lower lakes in the area. We awoke to a beautiful morning and decided to hike up Little Annapurna, choosing a route off trail which appeared to be an easy hike. As we walked along, boulder to boulder, I misjudged a step onto a rock in a shadow, made even darker by the sunglasses I was wearing. The rock had more of an angle than I realized and was still wet from the morning dew. I fell forward with my left leg completely extended, catching it on a rock about a foot below. I felt a pop, and it was then, that I knew I wasn’t walking out of there. At this point the pain was manageable but I couldn’t bend my leg. We all had two bars on our cell phones but we couldn’t call out. Peter took all the cell phones and hiked to the ridge top for better reception. In the meantime, Gary hiked back to camp and brought my equipment up in case we had to […]