David Thompson Search & Rescue celebrates 50 years

David Thompson Search and Rescue is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the group is hosting an open house Friday at Riverfront Park to commemorate the milestone.

The open house will begin at 5 p.m. at the barn, then food and beverage will follow at 5:30 p.m.

They will also have demonstrations of some of the work they do, including swift-water rescue, at 6:30 p.m.

Past and present members are welcome as well as the general public.

According to information from the group, Thompson SAR was organized in 1969 after a search for two young girls in the Ross Creek Cedars area of Lincoln County.

Those who took part in the search recognized the need for an organized group that could be called up at anytime to conduct searches.

This group was the start of what is now David Thompson Search and Rescue.

The organization has grown in members, equipment and skills.

It continues to grow as needs and funding are identified. The organization has been called upon from its start up in 1969 until now to respond to a variety of rescues and situations.

Stephanie Anderson has been with the group since 2008 and her father was one of the founders.

“When we first started, there wasn’t much gear and most of the team brought their own gear and equipment,” Anderson said.

Long-time member Terry Crooks has plenty of memories since he joined the group in 1982.

“It’s exciting to see how far the organization has come,” Crooks said. “It’s such a committed corp and we’ve been able to maintain a cohesive unit.

“There’s always a need for help in the backcountry,” Crooks said.

Crooks was involved with a local ski league and had done a lot of backcountry skiing when he was recruited.

“For me it was a chance to be involved in the community and learn important skills,” Crooks said.

Today, Crooks explained, things are much more specialized. The team has several speciality units, including 4x4, boat, K-9, communications, dive, medical and mountain.

The K-9 unit has been called to work in Glacier National Park and other units have been called to assist in SAR efforts in the Northwest.

The group has about 80 members, Crooks said. Each member must complete 40 hours of training.

“It’s gotta be a passion for people to stay in it,” Crooks said. “Libby is mosly a retirement community, so it can be a challenge to find younger and athletic people, which are needed for mountain work in the Cabinets.”

The group, which first began meeting in the high school library, then moved to the old building where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was located and then they built their own building near the river in the park.

David Thompson Search and Rescue’s mission is to provide the response for overdue, lost, injured, or stranded people from an emergency incident in diverse environments.

To use available personnel and equipment in a safe manner to locate and retrieve persons in distress, and provide for their initial medical or other needs and deliver them to a place of safety.

The Organization is under direct control of Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

A Board governs the organization which is consist of the elected positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.

The board also consists of the Sheriff, Sheriff’s Coordinator and the unit leaders from each of the following units: ATV/Snowmobile Unit, Boat Unit, Canine Unit, Communications Unit, Dive Unit, 4X4 Unit, Medical Unit, and Mountain Unit.

County funds, private donations and grants are used to finance operations and purchase equipment.

There are no paid positions in the organization, all members are volunteers who donate their time and skills.

The organization is based in Libby and serves all of South Lincoln County, but has been called upon by other counties and other states to assist in their operations.

The skills of the members make the organization. This is why a great deal of the emphasis is on training.

All members are welcome to take any kind of training that is available. Notices of upcoming trainings are usually mentioned at general meetings and in the newsletter and posted on the web calendar.

For more information on David Thompson Search and Rescue, see their website at http://dtsar.org/