Aitkin County Search & Rescue

02/07/2026

Did you see us in Palisade? It was a beautiful day for a parade, at least as far as February goes! Stay warm, stay safe friends!

02/05/2026

11/12/2025

There are moments in life where we need to pause and take it all in. This is one.

10/23/2025

We’ve launched a new page dedicated entirely to missing person alerts — Minnesota Alerts: Missing and Endangered. This page is a central place for important updates about missing and endangered people across Minnesota.

Going forward, missing person alerts that would have been shared on the Minnesota BCA accounts will be posted on this page instead. We encourage everyone to follow the page, share critical alerts and support this important initiative to bring people home safely.

09/04/2025

Today marks the one year anniversary of Tonya’s disappearance in the Savanna State Park. Please call the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office @ 218-927-2138 with any information.

07/07/2025

04/16/2025

It’s an honor and privilege to be working with St. Louis County Rescue Squad!

"Let's go, Dad!" Maverick tells handler Matt (callsign 7272) he's excited to get underway on a search sortie during renewed efforts to find 23-year-old Tonya Yarmakov, missing since September 4th in Savannah State Park in Aitkin County. Drone, canine, and ground pounding sorties were run today to take advantage of bare forest conditions in this rugged area. More than 3,000 photos were shot by our M-30 drones for further pixel-by-pixel processing in our Loc8 software. The search continues... (Alex Messenger photo)

04/15/2025

Thank you to those that take the first call for help, the calm voice when life is exploding on the other end of the 911 call.. The director of our resources and information!

We appreciate you and your dedication to helping others.

03/09/2025

It's been 6 months since Tonya went missing. Her family has creates a Facebook group to help spread awareness, share updates and potential search information. Please go join and let's help this family bring Tonya home!

https://m.facebook.com/61573383580001/

***MISSING VULNERABLE ADULT***
Tonya Yarmakov
23 years old
Last seen September 4, 2024
McGregor, MN

5' 4"
Dark brown hair
Brown eyes

Last Seen September 4, 2024, in Savanna Portage State Park, MN. She was wearing this tie dye t-shirt, black gym shorts, and black headphones. Tonya is Autistic and Suffers From Type 1 Diabetes. Although it's unlikely that Tonya has survived this long without her medications, the family wants to bring her home.

If you have any information regarding Tonya or her whereabouts, please contact Aitkin Co. Sheriff's Office with any information at 1-888-900-2138 or email [email protected].

09/15/2024

Please call the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office at the 1-800 number below with any information.

09/12/2024

Thank you for your hard work Ted and handler, we appreciate you!

Ted smiles happily after completing multiple sorties during a search in Aitkin County. The old boy is nearly 11 years old and still going strong. Ted lives to search and if he doesn't train at least every other day he'll tear the house apart.

Friends, "Tonya" is still missing. The 23-year-old disappeared last Wednesday from a cabin in Savanna State Park. She is high-functioning autistic and has Type-1 diabetes. Rescue Squad members have volunteered over 500 hours on this operation in our "next door" county, and Aitkin County, park staff, and DNR assets have dedicated many more. Photos of Tonya and other details can be found in local media and from Aitkin County resources. If you're recreating in Savanna State Park, please keep a sharp lookout. Thanks, and be safe out there, eh? (Droz photo)