County Sheriff’s Reserve unit in ground search

On Saturday October 8th, members of the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Reserves, a search and rescue group of volunteers, finished up a series of training to prepare them for the upcoming hunting seasons. Last Saturday members participated in an 8 hour ground search and rescue course that was provided by instructors from Central Lakes Search and Rescue, which is located out of Garfield MN. Some of the areas covered were:

*Search and Rescue Operations Management.

*Tracking

*Incident Command Structure. 

*Map and Compass Skills.

*GPS training and overview.

*Types of searches.

*Equipment needs and considerations.

*What to do if a search turns into a crime scene.

*Media and Social Media concerns.

*The use of K-9’s for searching.

The training was divided up between class room and hands on training in both open and wooded environments. The training was the final step in building a solid foundation in search and rescue operations. Besides building on past experience from current members, the sheriff reserves also participated in First Aid/CPR training, Water Rescue Operations, Air Search Operations, in addition to this training. The Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the instructors of Central Lakes Search and Rescue for providing this excellent training opportunity. The sheriff’s office would also like to thank Lobos Cabins for their donations that helped make this training possible. 

The photo is of current sheriff reserve members and Central Lakes Search and Rescue instructors.

Ryan Solee. Chief Deputy 

Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office