Washington State Search and Rescue Volunteer Advisory Council

06/01/2026

Washington SAR Session
Managing the Search for Alzheimer's, Dementia and
Other At-Risk Subjects
Hosted by SARVAC
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 - 7pm Pacific Time
One Hour – Via Zoom

"911...what is your emergency?"

"My mother is gone! She has Alzheimer’s disease and wandered away," the voice is frantic. "Please, send someone quickly!"

Every day across the United States, this scenario is lived by families, by law enforcement officers and by search and rescue teams. There are other forms of dementia besides Alzheimer’s, plus conditions such as autism or stroke that can make people go missing.

This one-hour Washington SAR Session will cover not only the tactical approach to searching for those with altered thought processes, but the emotional and family side as well.

Ms. Kimberly R. Kelly is K9 handler in Dolores, CO. She is also a former reserve lieutenant and SAR specialist with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. She was her unit’s primary trainer while also serving as a tech rescue specialist and medical support responder.

This free Zoom class is for all members of SAR from team leaders to front-line responders.

Sign-up is at the following link. There is no charge. Registration closes 72 hours prior to the class, at which time a Zoom link will be distributed to registrants.

https://forms.gle/kmMzBxyzWGpvwxiL9

Be sure to whitelist [email protected] in your e-mail handler so that you receive the class link.

Monthly Washington SAR Sessions are brought to you by SARVAC, the Washington Search and Rescue Volunteer Advisory Council. For questions or to suggest a topic contact president -at- sarvacwa.org.

05/28/2026

I know many of you participated in these searches.

**Kittitas County Prosecutor Files Charges in 2020 Death of Ian Eckles**

Today the Kittitas County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges of Murder in the First Degree and Robbery in the First Degree against 40-year-old Jorge Alcantara Gonzalez in the death of Ian Eckles, a hunter from Kent who was reported missing in the Liberty area of Kittitas County in May 2020.

Ian traveled to the Liberty area on the night of May 16, 2020. Friends and family reported him missing on May 18, and the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation that soon led deputies, along with Ian’s friends and family, to the Mineral Springs area. On May 23, Ian’s vehicle was found hidden in thick brush off a remote Forest Service road. As deputies approached the vehicle, a man later identified as Alcantara appeared and fled into the surrounding forest.

When Ian’s vehicle was searched, investigators found evidence consistent with a violent encounter, including multiple gunshots.

The next 23 days involved a coordinated manhunt by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, with thousands of acres of public wildlands closed during the search. On June 14, 2020, Alcantara was arrested while burglarizing a residence in the nearby Teanaway Valley.

Alcantara later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison for taking or possessing two stolen vehicles, including Ian Eckles’ vehicle, and for multiple burglaries and thefts of fi****ms.

The investigation into Ian’s disappearance and death has continued since that time. Each year, as conditions allowed in the mountainous terrain where investigators believe the fatal encounter occurred, law enforcement officers and trained Search and Rescue volunteers conducted careful, methodical searches. Altogether, more than 100 targeted searches have been conducted, but Ian’s remains have not been located.

Six years later, Alcantara’s prison sentence is nearing its end. In view of his impending release from Department of Corrections custody, KCSO detectives forwarded the extensive and complex case investigation to the Kittitas County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review. Prosecutors have now filed the case in Kittitas County Superior Court, and Alcantara will be transferred to the Kittitas County Jail to await court proceedings.

Sheriff Clay Myers said, “Ian Eckles has never been forgotten by his family, by this office, or by the community that searched for him and followed this case. We are grateful to the prosecutors who have taken on the difficult work of bringing this case before the court, and we remain committed to supporting that process.”

Filing charges does not end the case; it begins the court process. Prosecutors will now be required to prove the charges in court.

05/18/2026

Congrats to SAR members from Columbia and Walla Walla counties for completing this weekend’s SARVAC Boot Camp.

The final exercise simulated the very real situation of an autistic subject who runs from searchers. The lesson? If they can run they’re OK- don’t chase them across a road or off a cliff.

Of course…any mock search HAS to end with a pack-out, so our subject “twisted her ankle” while fleeing searchers.

Our two counties were great hosts and the class was fun for us, too.

05/17/2026

Our Boot Camps are for the most part basic training. The goal is to help small, remote teams that might not have an experienced instructor pool in their area.

We’re teaching the basics. We’re not teaching rope rescue or drone ops. We want a team we help to be able to go to a big multi-county search and successfully complete a BASIC ground SAR assignment.

But one new thing we are exposing folks to is called a Bothy Bag. It’s a multi-person quick shelter. No tent poles, that’s your head. No stakes, you sit on the corners. They go up quickly, get warm amazingly fast, and protect a patient from the elements.

Still to come? A mock search…with a twist.

05/17/2026

Instructor Amy can even make the most dry parts of SAR training exciting to hear.

This is Day 2 of our SARVAC Boot Camp for Columbia and Walla Walla Counties. (And the students came back after Day 1!)

This afternoon- a mock search.

05/16/2026

SARVAC is committed to boots-on-the-ground service to SAR teams in Washington.

This weekend we’re in Dayton delivering a basic SAR “Boot Camp” for teams from Columbia and Walla Walla Counties.

And the old saw applies: if it ain’t raining it ain’t training.

05/07/2026

Registration for the PNW Conference 2026 is officially open!

Join search and rescue professionals, volunteers, and public safety partners from across the region for three days of hands-on training, expert-led sessions, and real-world skill development.

Registration will be posted to this site on May 4th. It will also be published to social media and sent to all email contacts that are not pre-registered

05/02/2026

Washington SAR Session
Operational Period 1 – A Recipe for Success

Hosted by SARVAC
Tuesday, May 12, 2026 - 7pm Pacific Time
One Hour – Via Zoom

The pager beeps or the app buzzes and it’s out the door you go! Somebody’s missing and you want to go find them.

But why should those first efforts- Operational Period 1- be any less well-planned than an evidence search where you get weeks of notice? “Hasty” might be a type of search, but your search planning shouldn’t be.

There is a recipe for success! Our May SAR Session will teach you how to whip up the perfect “dish” while still getting searchers in the field quickly.

• A pound of Lost Person Behavior
• A cup of CalTopo
• A teaspoon of terrain analysis
• And where there might not be cell service…a pinch of Starlink.

Our guest instructor will be Guy Mansfield of the Washington State SAR Planning Unit. Guy will walk us through the basics of quickly preparing an effective initial search plan. He’s a director of the Washington State SAR Planning Unit and has served as Operations Section Chief and Planning Section Chief at some of the largest searches in Washington State.

This isn’t just for team leadership or SAR planners. Every field team member will benefit by understanding how searches are planned and how they fit in.

You can sign up for this class at the following link. There is no charge. Registration closes 72 hours prior to the class, at which time a Zoom link will be distributed to registrants.

https://forms.gle/kmMzBxyzWGpvwxiL9

Be sure to whitelist president -at- sarvacwa.org in your e-mail handler so that you receive the class link.

(As a side note, the planned presentation on searching for persons with cognitive disabilities had to be unavoidably postponed. Look for that in June!)

Monthly Washington SAR Sessions are brought to you by SARVAC, the Washington Search and Rescue Volunteer Advisory Council. For questions or to suggest a topic contact president -at- sarvacwa.org.

04/15/2026

We're pleased to announce that Scott Mitseff of Yakima County SAR has been appointed as SARVAC Secretary and the newest member of our board.

Scott is a 4x4 guy with significant non-profit experience. That's a perfect combination. We have Ground SAR, K9, Planning and Tech Rescue represented on the board. I'm personally thrilled to have someone from 4x4 in the mix.

We asked Scott why he applied for the position:

"I’ve always believed that strong teams and good communication are what make search and rescue successful. Serving on the SARVAC board is an opportunity to support volunteers across the state and help strengthen the connection between local teams and statewide efforts.”

Welcome to the board, my friend. We know you're gonna be a real force in keeping SARVAC on track and moving in the right direction.

04/13/2026

And that’s a wrap!

Day Two of our SARVAC Boot Camp is in the books. We spent the weekend working the bugs out of a two-day curriculum designed to give small or remote SAR teams the basic training needed to meet RCW and WAC requirements.

We want to thank Okanogan County SAR for being our test county. And I want to personally thank our cadre of awesome instructors who traveled long distances and were amazing mentors to the class.

The two day course ends with a mock search. Today we “rescued” a lovely Scottish lass named Heather. She was soooo grateful she said “AyetanksyegoodfolsIapraesheeeatitveerrrrrrrymush.” At least that’s what it sounded like.

We expect the class to be available to other counties after July. Stay tuned.