HISTORY                                                                      

• The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team (SAR) was formed in 1989.  The team was formed to assist city, county, state and federal agencies in times of emergency. The SAR team is available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year and is based in San Jose, but directly serves the cities and unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County.  They also respond to major and extended out-of-county incidents, statewide, through the California Office of Emergency Services; Mutual Aid Plan.   

MEMBERS

• The overhead management team consists of Director Jeff Thomas, and Planning and Operations Coordinator, Jackie Tubis.  All the members of SAR are dedicated volunteers, who are highly trained to effect successful SAR operations.  The team has conducted search and rescue missions in Santa Clara County and Northern California.  Some of these searches include the 1993 mutual aid search for Polly Klass in Sonoma County and the San Jose kidnapping of Jennette Tamayo.  The SAR team also assists in evidence searches and is equipped with state of the art computer software, maps and communication devices.

TYPES OF CALLS

• During a typical year the SAR team responds to about 25 requests for assistance and expends more than 8000 person-hours of training.  The team’s activities cover:
• Wilderness search and rescue responses
• Rope rescue on steep slopes
• Downed aircraft search, rescue and recovery
• Support for major community events
• Community preparedness and preventative SAR education

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Membership is open to anyone over 18 years of age who has a sincere interest and desire to make the commitment necessary to be an active contributor to SAR.  For more information on becoming a SAR team volunteer, visit www.sccssar.org.