El Paso County Sheriff's Office

Search & Rescue Team
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Team started off in 1960 as a search and rescue Team (SAR). They employed a fleet of 4 -wheel drive vehicles and aircraft for the desert & mountainous areas around El Paso. In 1989, the office developed the policies and procedures for an all volunteer, Regular Deputy Team. The Team has responded to more than 150 call-outs averaging 10 to 12 call outs a year. The team consists of a 10 man Sheriff's Office Mountain Rescue Team. The team has been awarded the Sheriff's unit Citation for Commendable Service for responding to serious & dangerous events, most notably the El Paso flood which occurred on August 1, 2006. With several hundred square miles of Desert the team normally responds to Mountain Rescues & Desert Searches locating missing people and also lost or stranded motorists.
Today the all Volunteer team is composed of Deputies and Detectives who are trained and certified in / as:
- High Angle Rope Rescue
- Confined Space Rescue
- Tracking
- Tactical Man Tracking
- ATV Instructors
- Rappel Masters
- EMT
- Basic Helicopter Operations
The lists goes on and on, suffice to say the Citizens of El Paso County have a team on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ready, willing and able to handle all of their rescue needs.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Officer Search and Rescue Team has a 100% success rate.
Search and Rescue Call-Outs