
Welcome!
Welcome to the Contra Costa Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team website.
The information contained here barely touches on the incredible work done by this team. Contra Costa SAR has grown and evolved over the last thirty years. The team began as a jeep club in the late 60's and developed into the 200+ member search and rescue unit it is today. In 2007 the SAR team volunteered over 46,000 hours to the community. Our most important mission is to seek out, find and return missing people to their loved ones. We do this well. Our mission does not stop here.
Each year we average nearly one hundred missions. These include missing person searches, medical support at community events, crime scene support, as well as logistics and management support at large scale incidents.
We search in Contra Costa County and through out the State of California. We have trained searchers that can operate in any environment in California. We can find ourselves on Mt. Diablo one day, or at 11,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountains another day. While all team members are "ground pounders" our team members can train in a multitude of different disciplines. These include search dogs, technical rescue, tracking, mountain bikes, equestrians, metal detectors as well as mountain rescue. The team has a very dynamic administrative approach to managing the unit. We divide these functions into training, resources, safety, operations, finance, logistics, search management, plans/intel, personnel/ recruiting and wilderness divisions. Each of these divisions have managers that handle the day to day operations of each area. Anyone joining the team will have plenty of opportunities to find an area to work in.
Everything that we do is done by volunteers. Our volunteers make up one of the best search and rescue teams in the state. We continue to recruit highly motivated people. We want you as part of our team.
Come and make a difference
Mountain Rescue Association
Contra Costa Search and Rescue has passed the final accreditation test for full membership in the Mountain Rescue Association. On Sunday, November 15, sixteen members of COCOSAR completed the MRA Technical Rock Rescue certification test at Rock City in Mount Diablo State Park. The test team was asked to secure and rescue an injured climber stranded half way up a sandstone cliff near Boy Scout Rock in Rock City. Rescue climbers rappelled down to provide initial care to the patient, followed by a litter and attendant. They then packaged the patient mid-cliff and the rescue team executed a high-angle raise to bring the subject to the top. This was followed by a low-angle carryout and belayed traverse across mixed terrain to the awaiting mock ambulance and completion of the scenario. Evaluators from Montrose SAR (Los Angeles County), Ventura County, Placer County, Marin County and our sponsor team Bay Area Mountain Rescue (BAMRU - San Mateo County) were on hand to observe, evaluate and decide the results. This test marks the third and last certification test needed for MRA Accreditation. COCOSAR completed Snow & Ice in May and Wilderness Search & Tracking in August of this year. Official membership will be finalized during the MRA annual business meeting in January.

-Mitch Allan