Hello, I’m Tom Richards. I have been volunteering with Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue (SAR) since 2012. We search for lost persons urban, rural and backcountry. We carry the injured out from the backcountry.
I was taking an alpine mountain-climbing class with The Mountaineers and one instructor made a pitch that we join SAR. Our skills are needed and we’d be welcome to join. I don’t think I’d heard of SAR beforehand. I did some research, attended a few meetings and joined. I thought I’d get to see lots of backcountry. Well, most of the rescues are at night. Once an injured person gets word to SAR, daylight is gone. Occasionally, a rescue takes all night and we get to see dawn.
My most memorable rescue was a recovery at the ice caves located off the Mountain Loop Hwy. The roof of the ice cave partially collapsed injuring several and killing one person. The injured made it out with help from bystanders. The presumed dead person was deeper in the cave. We waited overnight. The next day an avalanche expert from Washington Department of Transportation was brought in with explosives. He tried to collapse the cave by dropping explosives from a helicopter. Impressive explosions but the cave roof held firm. But enough debris came down that we deemed it safe enough to run in and carry out the body. At the end of the mission, the SAR team was flown out in the helicopter, my first SAR helicopter ride.
I wish more people knew that SAR is an all-volunteer effort, not a government agency. We buy our own equipment and rely on donations and grants for the big stuff, like trucks, rescue litters, ropes and radios. I also wish everyone who goes for a hike in the backcountry would make a plan and take the ten essentials with them. Visit SCVSAR.org for more information.
Tom Richards