Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue

Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue (MCSO SAR) is a non-profit volunteer search and rescue resource for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. The agency also offers its 3,000-5,000 hours of volunteer service to other areas, including Clackamas, Columbia, Washington, Marion, Hood River, Wasco, Tillamook, and Clatsop counties in Oregon, and Skamania and Clark counties in Washington. The organization was first created in 1961 in cooperation with the Boy Scouts of America, and is one of the longest continually used Explorer Search and Rescue units in the United States. In 1986, sponsorship of the MCSO SAR was transferred to the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. MCSO SAR is part of the Mount Hood Search and Rescue Council.

Training
All members of MCSO SAR are trained in a wide range of fields, including first aid, the legal aspect of search and rescue, emergency survival skills and equipment, radio communications, land navigation, GPS orientation, crime scene safety and security, search organization and management, search techniques, man tracking, helicopter safety, wilderness medicine, and rescue techniques. A minimum of 40 hours of training each year is required by the state, however the MCSO SAR itself requires 200 hours.

This extra training required by the MCSO SAR includes rope rescue training, rope systems, and pulley systems, urban search and rescue scenarios, training in responding to terrorist attacks, natural disasters and urban searches, crime scene evidence searching, and snow and avalanche safety. MCSO SAR also participates in the Washington State Search & Rescue Conference each year for specialist training in a number of different subjects. Starting in the summer of 2007, MCSO SAR began optional training which consisted of review as well as specialized training like high rope rescue, advanced first aid, advanced survival skills, and helicopter training.

Services
The MCSO SAR provides a number of services to Multnomah County, Oregon. Its members are the main first response team for missing, lost, or injured persons in the county and are often called in by other counties to assist at large search sites, or when resources are drained. MCSO SAR members also often perform crime scene evidence searches at major or outdoor crime scenes for agencies all over the state of Oregon and have been credited with solving hundreds of homicides. Besides responding to emergencies, MCSO SAR members often assist or put on public safety events to inform and teach the public about outdoor safety. MCSO SAR also works various public events, doing such things as security, parking/traffic, and first aid. MCSO SAR recently did security for the LPGA Golf tour in Portland, Oregon at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

Membership
There are certain requirements to join MCSO Search and Rescue team, these being:
 * 14 years of age or older
 * If in school, must maintain a Grade point average of 2.5 or higher
 * Able to pass a criminal background check
 * Have up-to-date vaccinations
 * Able to be on feet and hike for long periods of time
 * Maintain a minimum amount of required outdoor equipment and clothing
 * Able to be on call 24/7
 * Pass a state certification exam

Other agencies
There are a number of other agencies that assist with searches within Multnomah County, including:
 * Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR)
 * American Medical Response Reach & Treat Team (AMR RAT team)
 * Pacific Northwest Search & Rescue (PNW SAR)
 * Mountain Wave, who assist with communications and radio.
 * AMR River Rescue
 * Search-One K9.
 * Washington County Explorer Search and Rescue
 * Clackamas county Search and Rescue
 * Mt. Hood Craig RATS
 * Oregon Coast Guard
 * Civil Air Patrol (CAP)