556 King County Volunteers Save Lives for Free

Headlamp lights bobbed through the trees as volunteer rescuers carried a young hiker down Mount Teneriffe on a Friday night, completing another successful mission. But here's the remarkable part: every single person on that rescue team volunteers their time for free.

King County's search and rescue teams include 556 active volunteers who train for hundreds of hours each year and buy their own specialized gear out of pocket. From teenagers to retirees, they search for lost hikers, rescue injured climbers, and recover remains in every kind of terrain and weather.

Last year alone, these volunteers responded to 164 missions across King County, making it Washington's busiest jurisdiction for search and rescue. They also helped during December's South King County floods, transporting people and gear when communities needed them most.

The volunteers include married couples who met through the nonprofit and multiple generations of families serving together. While many have backgrounds in medicine, military service, or firefighting, others bring skills ranging from computer science to tow truck driving.

Sheriff Patricia Cole-Tindall says one volunteer logged over 1,000 missions and 3,000 hours of training in their career. These volunteers often reach lost or injured people first, then coordinate with sheriff's helicopters to determine the best way to bring them to safety.

The Ripple Effect

The King County Search and Rescue Association, founded over 60 years ago, operates seven specialized units covering everything from mountain rescue to search dogs to drone operations. Together, they form a professional-level emergency response system that costs taxpayers almost nothing.

The association runs on a $650,000 annual budget, with just $200,000 from a parks levy and the rest from grants and donations. In 2024, they hired their first executive director, the only paid search and rescue position in the state besides the state coordinator.

When asked why they dedicate so much unpaid time to the work, volunteers point to the camaraderie and intellectual challenge. But mostly, they talk about the feeling of bringing someone home safe to their family.

These volunteers prove that some addictions make the world better.