During the afternoon of September 1, 2018, Civil Air Patrol Search and Rescue was contacted by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department requesting assistance with a missing person search. The Arizona Department of Public Safety had issued a Silver Alert the previous day but the subject had not yet been located.
A dozen Civil Air Patrol members and three canines, including some already on a precautionary SAR mission at Lake Havasu, responded to the alert at approximately 5:30 PM on Saturday to participate in a search that lasted until almost 4:00 AM the next day. Squadron 304 was represented by Col Gary Williams and C/Capt Jacob Kottraba.
The Arizona Wing Emergency Services of Civil Air Patrol responds to many of these types of search missions throughout the year. Although the primary mission of CAP is searching for downed aircraft, Arizona Wing members are cross-trained on all kinds of searches during monthly training classes.
Membership in Search and Rescue is open to any CAP member that can pass tests demonstrating knowledge of SAR techniques and wilderness first aid. Training for these tests is available through Operations Training schools offered by CAP. More information can be found here.
