Siskiyou County Sheriff Search and Rescue

Stories about mountain climbing and rescues!
Thursday, June 11 - 7 p.m.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Search and Rescue team held their monthly training near Humbug, CA this month. This field training focused on ground searching, tracking, and ATV operations to help ensure our volunteers are prepared when the call comes in.

These skills are essential because the majority of SAR calls for service involve lost or injured persons in remote and challenging terrain. From locating missing hikers and hunters to assisting injured community members, effective search techniques and safe off-road operations can make all the difference in bringing someone home safely.

A huge thank you to all of our dedicated SAR volunteers who continue to give their time and skill to serve Siskiyou County.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team attended the annual Helicopter Safety training hosted by the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center & Home of the Climbing Rangers and CHP - Northern Division Air Operations last week. This year’s training included CAL FIRE Siskiyou Unit Aviation Unit, Mountain Medics Inc. , SWS Mountain Guides , and focused on helicopter safety, landing zone planning, hoist systems, and the hazards rescuers face in alpine environments.

This interagency mountain rescue training designed to prepare first responders for the unique challenges of high-altitude rescue operations. As climbing season begins in Siskiyou County, rescue operations on Mount Shasta and surrounding peaks become an unfortunate reality. Frequent, realistic training is essential to ensure these missions are carried out safely, efficiently, and with seamless coordination between agencies. Working together, training together, and learning from one another helps ensure the highest level of service and safety for everyone we protect.

To close, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the U.S. Forest Service Climbing Rangers and CHP for making this invaluable helicopter training possible. Opportunities like this strengthen the partnerships between our agencies and ensure we remain prepared to respond safely and effectively when the public needs us most.

- MISSING PERSON -

A missing Oakland woman may be in the Mount Shasta/Weed area and we ask the public to be on the lookout for Amy Hillyard. Amy was last seen in Oakland, CA, around 2:00pm on March 25th and was wearing a white shirt and light-colored jeans.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Hillyard, please contact the Oakland Police Department's Missing Persons Unit at (510) 238-3641. Refer to Case #: 26-013129.

To learn more about this case, visit:
https://www.bringamyhome.com/

We'd like to offer our sincere thanks to the Saint John's Fort Crook Masonic Lodge in Yreka for hosting a Community Breakfast fundraiser on behalf of the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SAR) Team! Our SAR volunteers had a great time on Sunday serving up a delicious breakfast buffet and talking about the work SAR does with many of the attendees.

Through this fundraiser and the generosity of the community members who attended, Siskiyou SAR was able to raise over $900! If you would like to learn more about Siskiyou County Search and Rescue, please visit: https://siskiyousar.org/. We are a volunteer organization that is always accepting applications for prospective team members, so if this work interests you, apply today!

Check out the work our volunteers did as part of the new SIRG team here 👇
https://www.kdrv.com/video/inter-agency-ropes-rescue-training-in-yreka/video_d535611a-efca-5bbd-9460-aa24e6c61b42.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawRMms9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFmeTEwODhOTW4xdm1ReXJqc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqc6CTJfH9Khpnw1N0RPMO0DTSt_qf9DLeadRt4XmAQc4bvgAFpNzsPuwHxZ_aem_gQXorETYYOmZRKuzeTUmug

Inter-agency ropes rescue training in Yreka Agencies came together to train for rope rescue situations. The training focused on rope techniques, but was also intended to be a point of contact and bring the different groups

Come join us at the Masonic Breakfast raising funds for Search & Rescue this Sunday, April 19th

-MOUNT SHASTA RESCUE 3/20/26-
On Friday, March 20th, search and rescue personnel responded to Mount Shasta to aid a split boarder experiencing altitude sickness. At approximately 4:30 pm, a 31 year old man called Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch after experiencing worsening symptoms of altitude sickness above Redbanks, a prominent series of chutes at 12,000 ft elevation along the popular Avalanche Gulch climbing route.

A Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Deputy instructed the split boarder to begin descending the mountain and initiated a search and rescue operation to assist as needed. Though the split boarder was able to successfully downclimb to Helen Lake at 10,400 ft, he was unable to continue his descent further due to exhaustion. A group of climbers camping in the area noticed the man having difficulty walking and began to render aid. By 7:00 pm that evening, Climbing Rangers from the US Forest Service and the Siskiyou County Search and Rescue team ascended the mountain reached the man and were able to safely transport him back to Bunny Flat parking lot.

Altitude sickness often appears within 12 – 24 hours after ascending above 8,000-10,000ft elevation, and typically presents as a headache, nausea, dizziness, or fatigue. While many people may experience mild forms of altitude sickness (also known as Acute Mountain Sickness or AMS), most cases can be managed through rest, hydration, and acclimatization. However, if symptoms worsen, an immediate descent is necessary.

The Sheriff’s Office is grateful to the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center & Home of the Climbing Rangers , the Siskiyou County SAR team, and the hikers that helped the split boarder at Helen Lake for their efforts on this operation. To learn more about climbing conditions and safety on Mount Shasta, please visit: https://www.shastaavalanche.org/ #/. To learn about the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team, go to: https://siskiyousar.org/
U.S. Forest Service - Klamath National Forest