Rensselaer County Search and Rescue

05/25/2026

Memorial Day, a day to remember, honor , and parade.

04/28/2026

Speigletown Training with Rensselaer County Search and Rescue

04/27/2026

Search and Rescue training with victim packaging with the Speigletown Fire Company

02/06/2026

We are an entirely community supported, all volunteer organization. Show your support by volunteering or with financial support!https://rcsar.com/donation-info/

02/06/2026

Rensselaer County Search and Rescue Celebrates 50 years of community service in 2026. 50 years ago today the Dave Onderdonk, Boozer, and others created an organization to find lost people quickly, using dogs and science to help reunite families and find loved ones.

Now we are men and women who volunteer our time to help others in need. We search for lost or missing people any time day or night, rain or shine. RCSAR members are trained in many skills: Search Tactics, Wilderness Survival, Cliff Rescue, First Aid, Man Tracking, Map and Compass, etc. Our dogs are highly trained in trailing/tracking, air scent, and human remains detection.
From our humble beginnings we have emerged as a leader in Search and Rescue. We have appeared in the Smithsonian Magazine and Reader’s Digest and have been filmed by National Geographic and the BBC. We have been on David Letterman twice. Rensselaer County Search & Rescue is one of only a handful of civilian Search and Rescue Teams recognized by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Our work assisting law enforcement has earned us recognition from: Massachusetts State Police Superintendent, Massachusetts Governor, New York State Legislature, United States Congress, National Police Bloodhound Association and Rensselaer County.

We are an all-volunteer private 501 3c charity organization receiving NO direct government funding. We rely on donations for support.

Northeast Wilderness Search and Rescue (NEWSAR) Spectrum News 1 Capital Region Times Union WNYT NewsChannel 13 WRGB CBS 6 News, Albany WTEN TALK 1300 and 98.7

01/08/2026

01/08/2026

Come visit us at our command post at the winter festival, meet our hounds and more!

12/18/2025

Holiday light drills are important , it helps the dogs learn to deal with distractions and keep working through them. And we like seeing the community lights too! Happy holidays to all!

10/29/2025

Just out doing the Search and Rescue things. Consider supporting our team with a Tax Deductible Donation: https://rcsar.com/donation-info/. Did you know we do not receive any public funding? Just private donations, like yours!

10/26/2025