SPOT Recall

SPOT LLC has announced a voluntary recall of new SPOT Satellite GPS Messengers (SPOT 2) purchased since October 1, 2009. 

  

Griffith Search (12/13/2009-12/14/2009)

David Griffith was last seen at 1500 hours near the summit of Mt. Baldy. A hiking partner took a short break to take an extra clothing layer out of his pack, while Mr. Griffith continued down the trail with plans to return via the Sierra Club Hut. The partner finished the hike without finding Mr. Griffith.

View Griffith Search in a larger map

West Valley SAR was called the evening of December 13 to begin the search. Additional winter/alpine certified searchers were requested later that evening with teams spending the night out searching. On the morning of December 14, Sheriff's Aviation and a SAR member with a spotting scope located Mr. Griffith on the side of Goode Canyon. He was hoisted by the air crew and returned safely to Cow Canyon Saddle. Members from West Valley SAR, San Gorgonio SAR, SB Mountain SAR, Bear Valley SAR, the Cave & Technical Rescue Team, Victor Valley SAR, and Wrightwood SAR participated in the mission.

New Documents Added!

The following documents have recently been uploaded to DOCUMENTS:

1. Individual SAR Skills Documents
2. HARMS Documents
3. OHVSAR Documents
4. RROC Documents

CAL EMA "Winter Search and Rescue Operations Course"

I have just received the flyer for The California Emergency Management Agency's 2010 "Direction and Control of the Search Function - Winter Search and Rescue Operations Course".

The course will be held in Mono County (Mammoth Lakes), February 1st through the 5th, 2010.

This is the follow up course to the "Direction and Control of the Search Function Course" geared specifically to managing winter alpine SAR missions. The "Direction and Control of the Search Function Course" is a pre-requisite for attending this course. 

I highly recommend this course for SAR Coordinators who are responsible for alpine/mountain teams as well as SAR Members who function in key command post search management positions (Deputy IC, Operations, Planning, etc.) for alpine/mountain teams. NOTE- Space is limited, so all SAR Volunteer applications must be approved by their team's coordinators and then I need to notify Cal EMA so they will accept the application.

Dan Whitten

Gift of Love 2009

Greetings to All,

As most of you know the Sheriff’s Gift of Love Program is Saturday, December 12, 2009. This is the 12th year of a heartwarming and successful event; successful, due in part, to Search and Rescue’s participation. Once again, I’m asking for your help in giving mothers and children, living in domestic violence shelters, a Christmas they wouldn’t have without us. A Christmas they’ll never forget, because at a very dark and depressing time in their lives someone cared. We cared!

Here’s what I need:

Be at the location no later than 1015 hrs (contact Mike Ward for details). Be at your best. This means look sharp and be ready to have fun putting smiles on the young one's faces, mom's too!

Please follow your chain of command and have ONE PERSON from each unit, who plans on participating, contact me with your resource numbers and info ASAP. We give a gift of love that gets returned. You’ll never forget the child that hugs your leg and says, Can I come home with you?

Thanks for your many years of participation!

Mike Ward
SAR Council
909 953-0962

Director's Dialogue December 2009

I have always admired and respected the work that our Mountain and Rope Units have done, but never have I had the opportunity to really understand their total dedication to their specialty. Over the weekend of November 21st and 22nd I got quite an introduction to what is all involved in performing their skills. The classroom portion of the BMC (Basic Mountaineer Course) was fantastic. I can only say this; my admiration to our members of these specialties has grown ten fold. Wow. I am totally blown away with the equipment, personal clothing and skills that are required to a part of this specialty.

Click to read more ...

A Successful "New and Improved" BMC

The lecture portion of the Basic Mountaineering Course came to completion today with 26 students having attended. This year marks a significant addition to the course. Scott Cordner, Keith Church and Jeff Pierce, all from the National Ski Patrol delivered presentations on Avalanche Fundamentals and Rescue. Scott Cordner, Bear Valley SAR and Frank Hester, Wrightwood SAR have been advocating this change in BMC for a few years. The next step in this process involves adjusting the field experience for BMC. The time allotted  to hands-on field work relating to avalanche has been expanded. A much more thorough discussion of avalanche awareness, snow pits and victim search and retrieval will be held. This should prove to be beneficial to our SAR members during training and missions in our mountains in the winter. All SAR members are encouraged to take the BMC next year in order to take advantage of the new curriculum. Please keep in mind that Personal Vertical Skills (PVS) is now required for BMC.

BMC Course Information

BMC Classroom Session will be held at Sheriff’s Headquarters:
655 East Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415
Check-in begins at 0730 hours, Saturday November 21, 2009
Saturday November 21 – 0800 to 2000 with one hour lunch & dinner breaks
Sunday November 22 – 0800 to 1700 with a one hour lunch break

BMC Field Session will be held at Snow Valley Ski Resort, Running Springs, CA January 23 & 24, 2010*
Directions: http://www.snow-valley.com/directions.html

Click to read more ...

Red Dog Mine Nov 14, 2009

Approximately five years ago, April Pitzer boarded a bus headed home. She was never heard from again. A recent lead indicated that Red Dog Mine, south of Ludlow, CA would be a good place to search. The mine had been searched previously by Barstow Desert Rescue Squad, so this time the dog team was called to assist. The Barstow DRS and Cave Team worked together getting the dogs into the main shaft, while Kern and Los Angeles Counties worked on nearby shafts. Before the end of the day, the mine and two nearby shafts were thoroughly searched by humans and dogs. No remains were found.

This mission was especially interesting in that the dogs and handlers were inserted into the mine on rope. The video above illustrates the process, and the terrific training of the dogs. Toward the end of the mission,  on his way out, Matt Truitt, of the Cave Team, located an additional tunnel that had not been previously mentioned. The mine owner was on hand, and he wasn't aware of a fourth level. The maps that we had on scene only showed three levels. Matt and James, a member of the mine team, carefully searched this additional level.

Meanwhile above ground, a call was received indicating that human bones were found near Kelbaker road, so the Dog Team and Barstow DRS were released to search that site. Before exiting the mine, members of the Cave Team performed a line survey of the mine.

Exciting BMC Update!

This year marks a significant change in our Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC). We are running it concurrently with two courses from the National Ski Patrol (NSP). These are the "Avalanche Fundamentals and Rescue" and "Mountain Travel and Rescue Fundamentals" courses. More information can be discovered at  http://www.nsp.org/EduPrograms/education_programs.aspx . Upon successful completion, a  BMC student will receive a NSP certificate for both courses. In order to accomplish this, the BMC program had to be expanded over our standard course offered in the past. The November lecture time on Saturday will be extended into the evening. The time spent on various activities in the field has been rearranged and extended in order to cover all of the avalanche material. All SAR members, old and new, are encouraged to attend the entire course. As with our standard BMC, only participants completing the entire program will receive the three certifications. All San Bernardino County SAR courses require registration for the event with Dan Whitten via a $50 deposit which will be returned if the participant attends.