Search & Rescue Unit

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Search and Rescue (SAR) Team was created in 1963. The volunteer unit was established in 1989 to assist the Sheriff’s office, which then had a roster of 15 deputies. Search dogs became a part of Monterey County’s SAR Team in 1995. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Mounted SAR Unit formed in 2000.

The main objective of the SAR team is to provide trained personnel and specialized equipment to aid in the location and recovery of injured, lost or deceased people throughout the county, from urban environments to the most extreme wilderness areas. It performs rescues and recoveries in areas inaccessible to other first responders, usually in the Ventana wilderness and at the bottoms of the cliffs along the coast. 

The Search and Rescue team consists of both Sheriff’s Deputies and civilian volunteers, making it one of the only search and rescue teams in the state to utilize both sworn and non-sworn personnel as fully functional members of the team. Specialized positions on the team include high-angle technicians, a swift-water team, mountain bike operators and drone pilots.

Our SAR team is a full member of the Mountain Rescue Association as a type 1 rescue unit. To be included in this elite organization we are certified yearly in three disciplines, High Angle Rescue, Winter Alpine Operations and Search Management. 

Our SAR team frequently responds to emergencies in Monterey County and throughout the state for mutual aid SAR missions. We stand ready to respond anywhere, to any circumstance, be it an injured climber stranded high on a cliff face, a vehicle off the side of the road, a missing child,  or a hunter lost in a snowstorm in the high sierras.

For volunteers, please fill out our Civilian Volunteer Application. This form is also listed on our Forms & Docs page.