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Do you want to join us? Locate an MSAR unit near you. These are primarily volunteer units, listed according to the states and counties where they are based. If called through the proper agency having jurisdiction, most units are able to report for SAR missions outside their county or state.
There are many more MSAR units than the ones listed here; this is a list of MSAR units that (a) have a web presence of some form, (b) have been found on the web, and (c) include volunteers. Thus, many MSAR units with no web presence (yet) are omitted, as are the majority of mounted police units, military units, and other organizations that do not include volunteers. (NOTE! The MSAR units listed here are believed to be legitimate, but this list is in no way official.)
Do you want to list your unit here? Send MSAR Maintainer your unit's name, website, and applicable location (eg, state and county).
Do you wonder about those United States counties and regions? Because this web page lists over 400 units, they are grouped roughly by the geographic region in which they occur. In the United States, they are listed by county. This reflects the mailing address of the unit, not necessarily the unit's response area. Many units are called out through the county sheriff's office, but many other units are called out through other authorities. Some units will respond if called directly. Few units will self-deploy. Many units have a normal response area that is limited to one county, but many others have a normal response area that is far larger, some even crossing state borders.
Do you need more information? See MSAR Home for other links.
Le cheval est utilisé par des unités de recherche et de sauvetage aux victimes au Canada.
The National Ground SAR Council of Canada has developed National Criteria for Volunteer Ground Search and Rescue. It also has a SAR resources (teams) directory that as of September 2009 is offline.
Relevant SAR standards are established by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Ontario Search and Rescue Volunteer Association (OSARVA).
Search and Rescue Volunteer Advisory Council (SARVAC) is an association of volunteer SAR responders and Washington Search and Rescue Resources maintains a SAR units directory.
Oregon Emergency Management Search and Rescue Program includes contact information (PDF) for each County SAR Coordinator
Per Idaho Statute, each county's sheriff is responsible for search and rescue operations within the county, exclusive of other jurisdictions. Idaho Institute of Emergency Management offers free training. Idaho State Search and Rescue (ISSAR) maintains a list of ISSAR member units in 3 zones: northern, eastern, and western.
County sheriffs have the primary responsibility for SAR. The Utah Sheriffs' Association maintains a directory. Utah has a state SAR Advisory Board that administers a SAR Financial Assistance Program. In fiscal year 2008 the program distributed $259,476 to SAR teams in 22 of 29 counties, and the counties' reported use of horses was 563 hours in 76 deployments (7.4 hours per horse deployment).
Montana Search and Rescue is a new website intended to help SAR resources throughout Montana network with each other.
Agencies having jurisdiction for SAR include county sheriff's offices, among others. Colorado Search and Rescue Board (CSRB) maintains a list of SAR teams in Colorado, both CSRB member teams and teams not affiliated with CSRB. ColoradoSAR is a state-wide general SAR mailing list; subscribe by e-mail or on the web.
By statute (the New Mexico SAR Act and Plan) the state agency having jurisdiction for SAR is the New Mexico Department of Public Safety (DPS). Under DPS, the New Mexico State Police (NMSP) employs a civilian SAR Resource Officer (RO). The RO maintains a Resource Directory, not available to the public, that lists all NMSP-recognized SAR resources including volunteer SAR teams in New Mexico and adjacent states.
Separately there is a nonprofit umbrella association of NM volunteer SAR teams, the New Mexico Search and Rescue Council (NMSARC; formerly New Mexico Emergency Services Council, NMESC). NMSARC has no role in SAR missions. NMSARC runs an annual SAR conference, ESCAPE.
As of June 2013, the NM SAR Resource Directory lists the following MSAR units:
Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM) defines 7 DEM regions. Florida Association of Mounted Patrols maintains a list of member mounted patrols, including some volunteer civilian patrols.
In Ohio agencies having jurisdiction for SAR include county sheriff's offices and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. For incidents that require resources beyond the scope of local and state agencies, the designated primary agency is Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Ohio SAR volunteers have an e-mail discussion group, SAR-OHIO: join on the web here or by sending an e-mail to SAR-OHIO-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Mounted patrol (not SAR) training opportunities in Ohio include the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy, the Cleveland Metro Parks Mounted Training School, and the Buckeye State Mounted Training School. The Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association provides some form of mounted training (mounted patrol?).
E-mail discussion group SAR-TN.
The major agency having jurisdiction for SAR in Maine is the Warden Service. National parks and local agencies have separate jurisdiction. The Warden Service is responsible for coordination and implementation of search and rescue operations on lands under the jurisdiction of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, as specified formerly under Maine Statues Title 12, section 7035 (repealed), now under Maine Statues Title 12, section 10105. Independent of the Warden Service, Maine Association for Search and Rescue (MASAR) maintains a list of volunteer SAR teams in Maine, and has published standards including Mounted Team Certification Standard (PDF) and Mounted Team Recommended Equipment List (PDF). Maine Statutes most directly concerning SAR:
The New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, has an Emergency Operations Plan: Search and Rescue. Its focus is urban SAR. New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the principal agency having jurisdiction for wildland SAR. New Hampshire Outdoor Council (NHOC) is a non-profit organization formed in 1986 that provides some funding to and maintains a directory of civilian volunteer SAR groups.
Agencies having jurisdiction for SAR include state and federal agencies, county sheriffs offices, and municipal police departments. Many of these agencies maintain their own SAR teams. Public Law 1999, c.251 provides immunity and other benefits to persons who participate in SAR teams. Search and Rescue Council of New Jersey (SARCNJ) is a voluntary association of civilian volunteer SAR teams and affiliated agencies. SARCNJ has 3 membership regions: North, Central, and South.
Pennsylvania Search and Rescue Council maintains a list of its member teams, but not all Pennsylvania teams.
Rhode Island State Police (RISP) is the primary agency having jurisdiction for SAR, and has an Inland SAR Plan (August 2005). Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) maintains a directory of resources available for SAR in the state. Agencies having jurisdiction obtain these resources by calling RIEMA emergency dispatch (401) 946-9996. RIEMA offers free of charge training in Basic Search & Rescue, Land Navigation, Night Navigation, and Incident Command System. Contact RIEMA Training Coordinator Michelle SanSouci (401 462-7122, fax 401 944-1891, michelle.sansouci@us.army.mil).
Agencies having jurisdiction for SAR include county sheriffs, Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) and Maryland State Police. NRP has published Volunteer Search and Rescue Teams Standards that include MSAR.
SAR-VA is a state-wide general SAR mailing list; subscribe by e-mail or on the web. The volunteer association Virginia Search & Rescue Council, Inc. has developed Equine Search Standards Final (April 2006).
North Carolina SAR Advisory Council (NCSARAC) maintains a SAR resource directory that is open to all SAR teams regardless of membership in NCSARAC.
http://www.ibiblio.org/msar/units/
29 April 2002, updated 3 July 2013
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