LIHU‘E — Hours of grueling searching through wind, rain and mud have not gone unnoticed. The Kaua‘i Search and Rescue members were honored by Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., joined by representatives of the Kaua‘i Police Department, Kaua‘i Fire Department
LIHU‘E — Hours of grueling searching through wind, rain and mud have not gone unnoticed.
The Kaua‘i Search and Rescue members were honored by Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., joined by representatives of the Kaua‘i Police Department, Kaua‘i Fire Department and state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement in celebrating July 26 as Kaua‘i Search and Rescue Day.
Kaua‘i Search and Rescue is a nonprofit, volunteer organization committed to providing prompt response with specialized canine, trained personnel and appropriate equipment to assist authorities in locating missing persons.
The agencies that joined the mayor in the proclamation are usually the groups that call on KSAR and, once a call-out is made, KSAR works under the group that made the call.
KSAR teams are made up of a handler with his or her canine and at least one search technician whose responsibility is to assist with communication and navigation.
The KSAR commitment involves weekly training, ongoing certification and the ability to support new gear including boots, safety helmets, packs, equipment and other must-haves.
Recently, KSAR worked on a ground search to locate a missing visitor in Wailua.
The combined efforts of different agencies and KSAR to find the individual alive and well were unsuccessful, but the county and state officials are aware of KSAR’s attention to canine training and volunteering long hours to the intensive search effort.
KSAR team members include Jim and Azi Turturici, Bill Woodard, Karin Riedel, Cheryl Holliday, Peter Kahapea, Russel Fu, Gayla McCarthy, Noelle Cambeilh, Penny Fernandes, Chad Pacheco, Kim Rogers, Sal Ochoa, John Burns, David and Debra Gochros, Kalei Suzuki and Mark Walsh. Assistants include Michelle Topola and Julie Crouch.
Visit www.kauaisar.org for more information on KSAR.
• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
