MISSION: Our Mission is to find and aid people in distress and to assist law enforcement agencies with evidence searches.
Our Goal is to provide tracking/trailing, air scent and specialty search dog teams trained for effective and efficient canine search in support of the King County Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit for search operations in the following areas:
- Missing persons search in wilderness and urban settings.
- Assisting with the location of drowning victims.
- Locating deceased victims.
- Locating articles of evidence at a crime scene.
- Locating victims in rubble in case of fire or natural disasters.
- Locating victims after an avalanche.
KCSD complements and extends police K9 resources but our training and certifications focus on searching for missing persons and specialty searches so we DO NOT:
- Chase bad people
- Look for drugs
- Look for bombs
- Look for lost or missing pets
KCSD is part of the King County Search and Rescue Association and depending on the objectives of the mission, we work closely with the other KSARA units: Seattle Mountain Rescue, Ski Patrol Rescue Team, Pacific Northwest Trackers, Explorer Search and Rescue, 4×4 Search and rescue, Northwest Horseback SAR and the King County Incident Support Team. In addition to the specialized skills training required by each discipline, the members of all the units undergo a rigorous, standardized core competency training program developed by the Washington State SAR Coordinators Association. This assures that KCSARA units can function effectively with each other and with other search and rescue teams from around the State.
We enjoy what we do and welcome you to learn more by browsing our website to discover more details on the different search disciplines (airscent, trailing and specialty search) as well to find out more about KCSD and its members. We also hope you will visit the YOU can help section to learn how to stay safe in the wilderness and what you can do to help our mission.