Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una.smith@att.net>]

Chris,

Congratulations to everyone on that search for the swift find.  SAR
is a team effort and you describe good teamwork.

I am curious about SAR management protocol for probable suicides in
your county.  Here in New Mexico the policy is that SAR team callouts
are delayed for probable suicides, due to a concern for the safety
and wellbeing of the SAR volunteers who are not trained to intervene
in suicide attempts.

That may be a difference in kind;  in New Mexico only a tiny minority
of SAR teams are trained and certified as public safety reserve
officers.  I know in some states reserve officer status is the norm,
and if I recall correctly that is the case in Chris's county, San
Bernardino County, California.

Chris has mentioned San Bernardino County is enormous.  According
to http://quickfacts.census.gov, it is 20,000 square miles, with 85
persons per square mile in the year 2000.

I was curious how my area compares.  In New Mexico, SAR operates
on a state, not county system.  Normal callout area for SAR teams
local to me is these 8 counties:

New Mexico county       sq mi   per/sq mile
Los Alamos                109   168
Rio Arriba              5,900   7
Taos                    2,200   14
Santa Fe                1,900   68
San Miguel              4,700   6
Torrance                3,300   5
Bernalillo              1,200   477
Sandoval                3,700   24

>From those numbers, I calculate the area is 23,000 square miles,
with 40 persons per square mile.  Elevation ranges from 5,300 feet
to just over 13,000.

        Una Smith
        New Mexico