You know that we are the Search and Rescue team, but what is it that we do?

We…
…search for missing people in the wilderness and urban settings all over California
…get paged out for a search mission (usually at 2:00AM in the pouring rain) and eagerly respond to the command post
…have two general meetings and one full day of training each month on the calendar
…are all medically trained to at least the First Responder level (training offered at minimal cost by the team)
…conduct evidence searches for various law enforcement agencies in Marin
…are one of 16 Mountain Rescue teams in California so you can (with proper training) respond to the middle of the high sierras year round
…have a bunch of neat equipment that has been donated, purchased through contributions or thru the Sheriff’s Dept.
…train CERT teams in Marin so they can help our team in the case of large SAR’s
…are a volunteer organization, so we provide all of our personal gear ourselves (this can run several hundred dollars)
…have a fleet of vehicles from the Sheriff’s Dept. with lots of amazing SAR gear
…are made up of almost 50% adult and 50% youth members
…raise our own money for equipment
…conduct 30-50 operations each year
…assist with natural disasters, and pretty much anything which involves injured or missing people
…go to work after searching all night
…enjoy what we do

A typical wilderness search is for a hiker that is overdue on Mount Tam, reported by a family member or friend. Within an hour of getting the call from the Sheriff’s Office we will have 20-30 members on scene starting a search. Most searches resolve within 8-12 hours but some may continue on for 48-72 hours or sometime longer. All our members are volunteers so they come to searches when they can but family and work come first, we aren’t expecting you to give up your life. After all, it is a volunteer commitment.

The information above can be found on the official website of Marin County Search and Rescue. For more details about the organization and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit their website: http://www.marinsar.org