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Welcome to MSAR
Maryland Search and Rescue (MSAR) is a
professional volunteer wilderness search and rescue organization established to
provide assistance to those who become lost or injured in the outdoors. Along
with other member organizations of the
Appalachian
Search and Rescue Conference (ASRC), MSAR responds to emergencies
anywhere in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to conduct
searches for missing persons or aircraft, and to carry out rescue operations in
wilderness areas that require specialized equipment and techniques.
Based in Highland, Maryland, MSAR has over 100 members with expertise
in wilderness medicine, land navigation, search and tracking techniques,
land/air evacuation methods, and emergency incident management. Our teams are
dispatched to 20-30 search
emergencies annually, and operate in conjunction with state and local
authorities as well as other ASRC groups.
Maryland Search and Rescue (aka Venture Crew 616) is fully certified as a professional Search and Rescue program with the Appalachian Search and Rescue Conference, Inc., (ASRC) based in Charlottesville, Virginia. The ASRC represents ten volunteer search and rescue units in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, which provide all-weather, wilderness lost-person and downed-aircraft search and rescue services in the mid-Atlantic region when requests for assistance are made by local, state or federal authorities. MSAR is also a certified mountain rescue team of the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA). MSAR is also a member of the Pennsylvania Search & Rescue Council and the Virginia Search & Rescue Council. MSAR consists of young men and woman and adults who volunteer their services and time in emergency operations in the mid-Atlantic area. MSAR, as an accredited ASRC team, is recognized by the Maryland Search Teams Task Force, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia Search and Rescue Council, Virginia Department of Emergency Services, the Maryland State Police, Maryland Emergency Management Agency, Pennsylvania Department of Emergency Management and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Searches
The searches we respond to are primarily in Virginia, but we provide services to all of the mid-Atlantic region. We have responded to searches all the way from New York, to Tennessee.
All of the ASRC members are on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This can cause a conflict with school/work schedules. Members who have informed and discussed M/SAR with teachers and school administrators, ahead of time, have generally had success having searches classified as excused absences. Remember that searches are never mandatory, so searches do not need to get in the way of education.
Any incident in which MSAR participates is under the command
of a "responsible authority", generally a state, county or local law enforcement
agency. If SAR resources are needed the responsible authority contacts MSAR
through groups such as the ASRC and MSTTF.
If you have a search emergency, contact 911! If they see it necessary
they will then call SAR resources.
Once on scene, members of MSAR coordinate with law enforcement, EMS, and local volunteers to carry out the search effort. On search tasks teams of 4-6 searchers comb through wilderness areas in search of subjects and evidence. Once located, subjects may require medical assistance and/or evacuation depending on the type of incident that has occurred. MSAR is prepared for both manual "carryouts" as well as assisting with aerial helicopter-based rescues.
FAQ
A: Easy! Just
come to our next training meeting, see training schedule, meetings are
Mondays at 7 pm
at the Mt
Zion United Methodist Church's fellowship hall, see map. Once there, introduce
yourself and fill out the
appropriate
paperwork.
A: No, but if
you have experience in any applicable field it will help!
If you have experience, knowledge, skills, etc... Great! You could be a
great asset to our team!
A: Not all at
first. You should acquire the gear over time. Don't go out and buy
all expensive and fancy gear
as you
feel out the program you can ask to borrow gear or find out where to find good
2nd hand gear
A: From us, from local stores and internet sites
A: I probably
owe you an apology! Believe it or not we get a lot of emails and I get to
them as fast as I can
(but
not as fast as I would like)
A: Yes
A: No, not until we are comfortable with you (pretty much meaning you've reached COQ status) - lives are at stake.
Click on the map above for Mapquest.com driving directions to our meetings
If you are interested in joining or if you have any questions or comments
please feel free to contact us.
If you contact us via E-mail or AIM you will be in touch with Alex, an MSAR
member and webmaster.