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Lancaster County coroner highlights mounted‑response training after rescue where volunteers found missing man alive
Summary
Coroner Carla Deese described a mounted response unit (MRU) joint training with EMS and a subsequent deployment where volunteers covered nearly 20 miles and located a missing person alive; the MRU is volunteer‑run and not funded by tax dollars, she said.
Lancaster County Coroner Carla Deese and members of the county’s Mounted Response Unit told the council about recent training and a subsequent real‑world search that resulted in locating a missing person alive.
Deese said the MRU trained on April 25 with juniors (MRU explorers) and volunteers; the unit ran a scenario and later deployed in the early morning to locate a missing person, covering “just under 20 miles” and roughly eight hours in the saddle during the response. “When we were called at 03:40 in the morning, I was called by Billy Lloyd with fire and said, can we have your horses to come out? I said, absolutely,” Deese recounted. The presentation included photos and video excerpts, demonstrations of the STAR team’s role and descriptions of integrated EMS support, and emphasized multi‑agency coordination.
Mister Kato, who described the STAR (Special Technical Advance Response) team, said the unit provides search‑and‑rescue capability where terrain is inaccessible by foot or vehicles, and that team medics can provide immediate care. Deese and Kato both stressed that the MRU operates on volunteer time and private funds: “This team is absolutely not funded by any taxpayers money,” Deese said. Council members praised the multi‑agency cooperation and the positive outcome of the search.
