The following mission summaries were preserved from an older version of this website.
2012, July 8th – Stuck on Dosewallips sandbar: Two people stuck on a sandbar in Dosewallips river were in need of rope rescue. Rescue handled by Brinnon Fire and East Jefferson Fire prior to JSAR arrival. JSAR callout was initiated following FD4 request for resources through Jeffcom. Also responding was a water rescue team from Mason SAR.
2012, April 15th – Missing boy in Port Townsend: JSAR responded with JCFD5 to a Jefferson Project Lifesaver (JPLS) callout for a JPLS client missing in Port Townsend. Subject was quickly found by Port Townsend police inside a neighboring house.
2012, January 13th – Missing woman’s car found on beach at Ocean Shores: JSAR responded to DEM callout for resources in Grays Harbor county. Mission was to search for a woman whose car was found stuck on the beach at Ocean Shores. A loose grid (type 2) search of the dunes to complete coverage of area was done. No clues were found. Search was called off by OSPD at darkness. Woman was found alive the following day walking on the beach.
2012, January 5th – Hypothermic Fishermen: JCSO Notified of 3 fishermen who had gotten turned around and cold/wet while fishing on a creek on West End. One made it out to truck to call 911, other couldn’t go on. After discussion, helo was requested and Navy responded from Whidbey. A tribal officer also contacted RP and hiked in to find other 2. They agreed to hike out before helo arrived on station.
2011, August 28th – Injured Hiker near Lena Lake: JSAR was called out just after 1 AM for a 21 year old hiker with a possible broken leg. Subject was located in the dark by JSAR hasty team in an off trail area southeast of Lena Lake. Her leg had been injured by a rolling log. SAR teams from Clallam County SAR and Kitsap ESAR assisted with the carry out to the trailhead.
2011, August 27th – Search in Mason County: JSAR sent a team to Mason County to assist in a search for items at the request of the MCSO.
2011, July 4th – Search for Hiker Missing in Olympic National Forest south of Brinnon: A 22 year old woman was reported missing while on a family hike five miles up the Duckabush River trail. JSAR was put on standby just after 7 pm and was subsequently called out at 8:45 pm. The hiker was located shortly after 9 pm by searchers already in the area and she was escorted back to the trailhead.
2011, June 11th – Search for Missing Person near Sandy Shore Lake off Highway 104: JSAR was called out shortly after 2 AM for a man reported missing by his nephew. Cell phone contact was made by deputies but the person’s location could not be pinpointed within a 3km radius. With early morning daylight the man was located on a dirt road near the lake shortly after 4:30 am by JSAR personnel who then drove him to the search base of operations off Highway 104.
2010, November 2nd – Rescue of Injured Woman on Beach near Cape George: At 6 pm JSAR was called out to assist East Jefferson Fire and Rescue with a possible carry out of a woman injured on the beach north of Cape George. As the woman received care on the remote stretch of beach by an EJFR rescue swimmer, JSAR approached on foot in the dark from the south over the rough and rocky beach with a wheeled litter. A Coast Guard helicopter crew using night vision goggles then arrived and hoisted the woman off the beach.
2009, June 28 – Search for Missing Person near Quilcene JSAR participated in a multi-agency effort to locate a missing man from California. The search began the night of June 27 and the deceased man was found mid-day on the 28th by Border Patrol officers who were assisting with the search. http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090629/news/306299993
2008, October 17 – Search for Missing Climber on Mt Adams JSAR was called on to help on a large scale search for an overdue climber on Mt Adams. Searchers from all over Washington and Oregon joined in the effort to locate the 27 year old man who at over 11,000′ up the snow-covered volcano had fallen and broken his lower leg. The search went on for 4 days before JSAR received the call to help. Two JSAR members proceeded to Mt Adams and at daybreak on the 5th day joined in the search. Early that afternoon searchers followed strange tracks made by the injured man as he dragged himself along the trail that runs around the mountain. They eventually caught up with the man and administered first aid. All nearby searchers were redirected to that location. The JSAR members arrived soon enough to direct the incoming helicopter to the scene. The injured climber was hoisted up and transported to a nearby hospital. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008290905_adamsrescue21m.html
2008, September 28th – Rescue of Woman on The Brothers: A climber fell shortly after beginning her descent from the 6,866′ summit of The Brothers south of Brinnon. She reported slipping and then tumbling down a steep slope. She could not descend further that day and one climber in the party climbed down to get help while another remained with her as darkness surrounded them. When daylight arrived the party resumed a slow painstaking descent while search and rescue personnel from JSAR and Olympic Mountain Rescue approached from below. Two members from JSAR were first to reach the pair who were assessed and treated for dehydration. The hurt climber was ambulatory and was assisted down to tree line where she was met by medical personnel and OMR rescuers.
2007, October 7th – Reporter comes along on Training Mission: “Search and Rescue Crews at the Ready” by Sue Edwards, Kitsap Sun. Link to a nice article by a reporter who came along on one of our training missions. http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/oct/07/search-and-rescue-crews-at-the-ready/
2007, August 5th – Duckabush Trail Rescue: Three rescue agencies came to the aid of a 15 year old autistic boy who injured his ankle while on the Duckabush trail, just south of Brinnon. The California boy was on a backpacking outing with a youth group of autistic teenagers when he injured his ankle after apparently falling off a rock in the Duckabush River on Saturday, August 4th. Around 4 pm on Sunday, the teen group program director called 911 from his cell phone. Jefferson County Fire District 4 (out of Brinnon), Jefferson County Search and Rescue, and Kitsap Explorer Search and Rescue were all dispatched to the scene to assist in the rescue operation. The boy was recovered by the all-volunteer rescue teams about 4 1/2 miles from the base of the trail and was safely transported to the parking area just before midnight. He was carried on a wheeled litter that is specially designed for difficult terrain rescues. He was then transported by the teen group’s program director to Children’s Hospital in Seattle for treatment.
2007, July 14th – Mount Jupiter Mission: A 35 year old Silverdale man died suddenly on Mount Jupiter Trail, south of Brinnon off Route 101, late Saturday evening while hiking with companions. After reaching the mountain summit, he began to experience problems on his descent and went unconscious. His companions attempted CPR but were unable to revive him. They called 911 from a cell phone and Jefferson Search and Rescue (JSAR) was dispatched to the scene around 7:30 pm along with deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. The man was pronounced dead by a Deputy Coroner from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Dept. who was accompanied to the scene by a team of volunteer searchers from JSAR. The SAR team transported the deceased through the night and into the early morning hours until the terrain became much too treacherous to continue on foot, thus jeopardizing the rescuer’s safety. A helicopter from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Dept. came to the aid of JSAR and airlifted the man out from a clearing below the trail. The helicopter had to make several attempts before successfully retrieving the deceased due to inclement weather and fog. The helicopter crew then transferred him to a representative of the funeral home at a nearby landing zone in Brinnon. The all-volunteer team from Jefferson Search and Rescue had just completed a 5-hour training mission in swift water rescue awareness that Saturday morning in Brinnon at the Duckabush River. Twelve members of JSAR assisted in the rescue operation and invested over 250 man-hours retrieving the deceased. Several members of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Dept. also assisted in the operation, which began around 7:30 pm on Saturday the 14th of July, and was completed around 2:30 pm on Sunday the 15th of July.
2007, June 9th- Plane Crash on Mt Walker: “Couple who died in Mount Walker plane crash were headed to California” article in the Peninsula Daily News. http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20070610/NEWS/706100302
2007, May 27th- Injured Climber Hoisted off The Brothers: Jefferson Search and Rescue and Olympic Mountain Rescue were called out to rescue a 64 year old climber injured on the summit of The Brothers south of Brinnon. As the ground teams approached the cloud enshrouded peak a brief clearing allowed a Coast Guard helicopter to effect a dramatic rescue. This was one of the Coast Guard’s top 10 rescues of 2007 and the highest elevation Coast Guard rescue ever attempted in the region (7,000′). See Coast Guard videos on YouTube and SLD. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd3S9nsWsik http://www.sldinfo.com/?p=6680