In a letter to Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers, Clackamas County Sheriff
Craig Roberts announced changes to the operational structure, including
bringing volunteers under a single and unified county team and creating a
non-profit for the county’s SAR efforts.

“In the wake of recent litigation, at the recommendation of my county
counsel, and after a comprehensive study, I have decided to make these
changes,” Roberts wrote in the letter, noting the study was conducted by
retired Undersheriff Matt Ellington.

“This reorganization is in line with state law that governs Search and Rescue
in Oregon,” said Oregon Office of Emergency Management State Search and
Rescue Coordinator Scott Lucas in a press release after the letter had been
made public. “It’s considered best practices, as it follows the Sheriff’s Search
and Rescue Advisory Council guidelines.”

The new structure is a departure from the way SAR operations have been
handled in the county, which included a variety of citizen volunteer groups
such as Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue (PNW), Portland Mountain

Rescue (PMR) and Mountain Wave Search and Rescue (WAVE). Some
members of those organizations expressed surprise and dismay at the
decision, including Mark Morford, Rescue Leader and Board Member of PMR.
“Mount Hood is an expert environment,” Morford told the Mountain Times,
noting that team identity is an important aspect in SAR operations and his
organization has built a national reputation for excellence since it began 40
years ago. “Why would you possibly throw that away and try to build
something like that at taxpayer expense, that’s crazy.”

Russ Gubele, President of WAVE, said he was “disappointed and frustrated”
about the decision, noting that a recent lawsuit over a rescue on Mount Hood
had to do with a dispatch delay and not the volunteer teams.

“You have the best of the best in Clackamas County,” Gubele said, adding that
citing the lawsuit for the change is “crazy.” “It seems unbelievable that you
would want to dismantle that and start over with something new.”

As part of the restructuring, Roberts assigned Deputy Scott Meyers to SAR on
a full-time basis and also assigned Lt. Brian Jensen as the new supervisor to
oversee SAR. A subcommittee of experienced SAR volunteers will be formed
to help determine logistics and develop short-term and long-term strategic
plans.

A press release added that further details on the new structure would be
revealed in the coming months.

The Mountain Times requested more information on the transition time for the
new SAR operations, any budget ramifications from the change and if there
will be any impact on the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to perform other duties in
the county following the personnel shifts, but did not receive any response.
The Sheriff noted that volunteers who are certified by the Oregon State
Sheriff’s Association can volunteer with the CCSO’s new structure through an
application process, with a deadline of Tuesday, March 31.

Morford noted that the 75 members of PMR were unanimous in wanting to
remain with the organization.

“Right now, our members are committed to staying together as a unit and
working with the Sheriff to reach objectives while maintaining identity as a
team,” he said. “Whatever the state of this discussion is, PMR is going to
continue to train, we are going to keep our morale up and we are going to
respond every time the sheriff asks us to respond to Mount Hood.”

Morford also suggested that recent conversations with the CCSO could yield a
compromise, which appeared to be reached as of Wednesday, Feb. 26, when
a press release noted PMR and CCSO “arrived at a mutual agreement in
principle on general terms for a closer relationship between” the two
organizations.

“This partnership will strengthen our existing integration of personnel and
resources, and will make planning and mission response more efficient,” the
groups announced in the press release. More details are expected to be
released as discussions continue.

Gubele added it is hard to tell how many of WAVE’s approximately 100
members would be interested in applying for the county’s new SAR team.
“Nobody’s really saying one way or another, I suspect not a lot of people will,”
Gubele said, adding that the organization was founded in the wake of the
Oregon Episcopal tragedy on Mount Hood in 1986 and performs a variety of
roles in the county and with other nonprofits and counties. “Anybody that has
not been favorable or supportive of what is going on is likely not going to be
accepted anyway.”

“For time being, we are all here and can be called upon,” he added. “We’re
ready to go.”

CCSO Sergeant Marcus Mendoza noted in an email to the Mountain Times that
the county is prepared to fulfill the obligation of SAR operations, which is a
state mandated function of the CCSO.

“I want to make this clear to the public that if a SAR were to occur today the
Sheriff’s Office is prepared and will respond as we have countless times in the
past,” he wrote.

Hoodland Fire Chief John Ingrao told the Mountain Times in an email that the
change in CCSO’s SAR operations would have no impact on their response.
“We provide the same level of response as we always have and we work well
with CCSO on all emergency responses the two agencies have in our District,”
he wrote.

Current Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association (OSSA) SAR-card holders
interested in becoming members of the new team can complete a volunteer
application and background-check process at
https://www.clackamas.us/sheriff/sarteaminvite.html. The deadline for
applications is Tuesday, March 31.