In 2009 I was thoroughly impressed by the men & women of the Utah County Search and Rescue (SAR) and it was what first gave me the desire to get involved in emergency services.
On the day before Thanksgiving I had joined my college roommate, Josh, and his family on a caving trip into Nutty Putty Cave. Josh’s brother became stuck upside down in the cave and we could not help him on our own. Utah County SAR was called to assist and they worked tirelessly to help him. Unfortunately they were unable to free him from the cave’s grasp.
At the funeral I spent a long time talking to the rescuers, who I could tell were hurting, but who were dealing with it the best they could.
While talking to them that day I learned that SAR teams are staffed by volunteers. They carry pagers and when they go off they leave work and family at all times of the day or night. They miss birthday parties, lose sleep, and clock out at work. The calls always come when the weather is miserable or the circumstances are horrific. They show up to help people on what is likely the worst day of their life. They help those who are unable to help themselves. Sometimes the outcomes are good, but sometimes they aren’t as blessed. All of this blew my mind!
When I asked why these responders did what they did, some of them joked about being adrenaline junkies, but none of them could give me a straight answer. Profound respect doesn’t even begin to explain how I felt about these people. I remember being so hurt hearing my roommate’s brother didn’t make it, but then after meeting the SAR team members and seeing the pain in their eyes, I was absolutely crushed with what they too were feeling. It still brings tears to my eyes to think of that moment even now.
I’ve since met these Utah County rescuers on a couple of occasions and they were doing well. They talked about coping and things they do to honor those that didn’t make it. I’ll be forever grateful for the interest they gave me in emergency services and for the understanding of what these responders deal with.
Now for the education bit about Rich County Emergency Services.
In the state of Utah (and most other states) SAR is organized under the county sheriff’s office. For Rich County our SAR organization seems to be in constant flux. The number of active team members seems to range from 8 to 14 and includes people across the whole county, while number of “callouts” can range from 2 to 12 a year.
Rescues can involve everything from helping snowmobilers caught in avalanches to helping missing individuals in the backcountry in the summer to assisting search efforts on Bear Lake.
They meet and train monthly on the evening of the 2nd Tuesday. Training revolves around GPS use, rope rescue, ice rescue, drones, search patterns, backcountry tracking technique, avalanche beacons, and more.
Unlike many other counties, Rich County does not have specialty teams, such as “cave rescue teams” or “swift water rescue teams”, but instead all members learn everything.
Team members often volunteer the use of personal UTVs, snowmachines, and watercraft, and occasionally horses, but most often they are just volunteering their time and their boots for walking in.
For my Public Service Announcement portion the following are what I would recommend to avoid needing search and rescue:
When going into the backcountry or out on the lake, always let someone know where you plan to go and when the latest you should be back. (Shout out to my wife who is awesome at doing this.)
Always have a heat source (such as a lighter) and a light source (preferably not your cellphone as the batteries do not last.)
If you are in the backcountry and become lost or disoriented and know you’ll need to be rescued, attempt to get on a main trail/road, but if you cannot find one just stay in one spot, preferably with an open view of the sky so a drone can find you.
Be safe everyone!
Interested in learning more about Rich County SAR or in volunteering? Fill out this form and I’ll help you be in touch with someone who can help: https://forms.gle/BD6osqVo1Npfe9hs5
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