Search & Rescue

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue (DCSOSAR)

Under Oregon law, the sheriff of each Oregon county is responsible for Search and Rescue (SAR) activities within their county.

DCSO SAR is headed by a Lieutenant and comprises full-time Special Services Deputies and 120+ dedicated volunteers who answer the call at any time of day or night. It is also supported by seasonal personnel in the Marine and OHV units.

Our mission is to provide professional, high-quality search and rescue assistance to citizens of Deschutes County, visitors who recreate locally, and mutual aid to other counties as requested. The ability to save a life or effect a successful rescue often depends on how quickly the person can be found or reached.

Our volunteers are highly trained and dedicated members of the agency who are selected and vetted in accordance with the Sheriff’s Office policy. They attend an initial Basic SAR academy consisting of 165 hours of training and must pass practical and knowledge examinations to be certified. Once through the academy, they are expected to complete at least 100 hours of training and respond to 6 missions annually.

The unit consists of general volunteers as well as volunteers with specialty qualifications, including:

Mountain Rescue Unit – Rope and technical rescue on rock, ice, and alpine terrain.
Swiftwater Rescue – Search and rescue on or immediately adjacent to bodies of water, including rescue swimmers, boat operations, and rope rescue in slow- and fast-moving water.
Incident Management – Senior members with training experience to support managing more complex search and rescue incidents.
Air Operations – Members who operate Unmanned Aerial Systems and navigate and search from manned rotor and fixed-wing aircraft.
Tracking – Members with special training in “man-tracking” and identifying evidence and path of travel.
Canine: Members with qualified search dogs trained in: trailing, air scent, and/or human remains detection.
Additional qualifications include horse, snowmobile, ATV, Side-by-side, Tracked Rescue Vehicles, ski (in-bounds and backcountry), winter survival, and avalanche.

All members are trained in First Aid/CPR, with many having additional medical qualifications such as Wilderness First Responder, Basic Life Support (EMT), and Advanced Life Support (Paramedic, Nurse, or Medical Doctor).

The Deschutes County SAR Foundation supports the volunteers, which is dedicated to raising funds for equipment and the overall needs of the volunteer unit. The sheriff also supports the volunteers in the form of logistical support, facilities, vehicles, and an annual budget for training and equipment.

During the year, DCSO SAR completed 112 SAR Missions and conducted 441 SAR trainings. The majority of SAR missions completed in 2024 were from the following categories: