King County Search and Rescue urges public preparedness, outlines volunteer-run response

King County Search and Rescue Association volunteers gave a 40-minute presentation to the Duvall City Council on June 17, 2025, describing how the nine-unit volunteer association supports the King County Sheriff’s Office on wilderness, urban and evidence searches and asking for greater community support and clearer trail signage at Cherry Creek Falls.

The association’s communications director, Christine Nelson, said the units respond only when tasked by the King County Sheriff’s Office and that most of the organization’s funding comes from donations and grants. “We never charge for our services,” Nelson said. She described volunteers as “unpaid professionals” with training in search techniques, medical care and incident management.

Nelson outlined capabilities across the association’s units, including canine teams, 4x4 logistics, technical mountain rescue, ski-patrol search, and incident-command support. Josh Christman, a dog handler with King County Search Dogs, said his unit trains and works locally and has responded in the Duvall area. Tony Banek, a team leader with Explorer Search and Rescue, described the group’s role as “boots on the ground” for lengthy searches and recovery operations.

The presenters gave several operational details: Nelson said the association averages hundreds of missions annually and that more than 85% of missions involve two or more units; she noted about 11% of missions are urban, including searches for people with dementia or other vulnerabilities. The group also highlighted modern search tools such as cell-phone location data, satellite-capable phones, drones and experiments with e-bikes for trail access. “By the time we, the volunteers, get [a 911 call], the sheriff’s giving us a pretty doggone good set of coordinates on where we’re headed,” Nelson said.

Council members and staff asked about demographics, funding and partnership opportunities. Nelson said the association currently does not track visitor-versus-resident demographics for missions, citing privacy and medical-record limits, including HIPAA constraints, but said anecdotally the association helps both local residents and visiting recreationists. On funding she said units receive some expense reimbursements from King County for operational costs but otherwise rely on donations, grants and unit-level fundraising for specialized gear; volunteers often cover routine equipment and travel expenses.

The team described local training and outreach: Christman said volunteers recently worked with a Duvall scout troop on a merit badge clinic; Nelson said the association trains in the Cherry Creek Falls area and that the trail’s confusing splits and sparse signage contribute to repeated calls for assistance. “It’s scary when it gets to be after dark and they don’t know where they are,” Nelson said, urging consideration of improved directional signage though she noted much of the trail land is managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources and some segments cross private easements.

The association said it is pursuing a permanent regional headquarters near the I-90 corridor (currently a temporary trailer adjacent to Snoqualmie Valley Hospital), recruiting volunteers across non-field roles (finance, administration, communications) and increasing public-education efforts to reduce preventable missions. Presenters provided a QR code to the association’s volunteer and donation pages and listed long-term partners, including local businesses and service organizations.

Council members thanked the volunteers and several offered to help with outreach and logistics. The presentation concluded with an offer to coordinate with Duvall on community events, youth outreach and trail-safety messaging.

The presentation was informational; no council action or funding commitment was taken at the meeting.