Nevada County Sheriff's Search & Rescue

10/14/2026

We had a great OHV focused full team training on Saturday! Our team spent the day learning the ins and outs of UTVs, litter rigging on the UTV, setting up a portable repeater, riding with the Sheriff’s Department and rigging and vehicle recovery.

10/07/2026

Please keep an eye out and call the number on the flier if you see Jessica.

UPDATE 10/8/28 2:25PM: Jessica Scott has been found safe. Thank you to everyone who kept an eye out for her and called in tips.

MISSING PERSON ALERT: JESSICA SCOTT

ROUGH AND READY, CA – The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office and volunteers of the Nevada County’s Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team are actively looking for 29-year-old Jessica Scott.

Scott is described as a Caucasian female, approximately 5’5”, 145 lbs. with shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes. She has a tattoo of a moon on her right shoulder, a phoenix tattoo on her right hip, and five roses tattooed on her left side.

She was last seen on Oct. 5 on Ranch Rd. in Rough and Ready. She may be walking with no cell phone, purse or wallet and is believed to be wearing a red hoodie. She may also be carrying a purple water bottle.

For possible sightings of Scott, please call our Sheriff’s Regional Dispatch Center at 530-265-7880.

10/06/2026

Our Technical Ropes Team held a training where they focused on scenarios involving a subject located on a cliff by the South Yuba River. High angle ropes systems were set ups to lower and raise our subject and the rescuer to safety. Beautiful day to be out by the river and great job to our Ropes Team!

09/23/2026

This summer we had the opportunity to work with Care Flight to get 30 team members credentialed through their Crew Card program. Care Flight is an important resource in our community, and the Crew Card program allows them to transport SAR members into the field on missions, when Care Flight is not providing air ambulance services. In early September, we conducted a joint training with them to further improve our coordination. Two SAR members and two Care Flight crew members conducted a 30 minute reconnaissance flight to identify landing zones around the Castle Peak area. They then met a larger group of SAR members in the field to train on patient loading procedures using NCSSAR's equipment. At the end, the two SAR members hiked back out in order to verify and photograph landing zones from the ground.

This training helped build a database of landing zones around the Castle Peak area, which can be readily referenced on future incidents, improving response times to injured people in the backcountry. We want to give a big shout out and thank you to Care Flight and their pilots and air crews!

09/15/2026

Saturday our Full Team Training focused on Technical Ropes Rescue Skills! Our members practiced patient packaging in a litter, knots, anchors, prusik use, attaching themselves to a litter system, using a hand line to descend + ascend and subject rescue utilizing a hand line. Thank you to all of our Rope Team members who made this training such a success!

09/09/2026

Over the Labor Day weekend, the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an overdue camper who was camping at a very remote lake in western Sierra County.

Due to concerns about possible medical issues and the remote location, the Sheriff’s Office requested mutual aid assistance from Nevada County Search and Rescue and a Care Flight.

Search teams assembled at first light and began searching the area. Fortunately, the overdue camper was located safe and in good condition.

It was later determined that the camping trip had simply been extended by an additional day without family members being notified. While we are very thankful this incident had a positive outcome, it serves as an important reminder: if you decide to extend a backcountry or camping trip, please make every reasonable effort to notify family or friends of the change in your plans.

A simple notification can prevent unnecessary concern and avoid committing significant search-and-rescue resources to what ultimately turns out to be a non-emergency.

The Sierra County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank Nevada County Search and Rescue and Care Flight for their quick response and continued partnership in keeping our communities and backcountry visitors safe.

Nevada County Sheriff's Search & Rescue Care Flight

09/03/2026

For those interested, our very own Sergeant Dustin Moe and Nevada County Sheriff's Search & Rescue Team Lead and Ropes Team Member Lindy Sexton will be on CBS13 CBS Sacramento tonight to share more details about last week’s river rescue that ended with a woman and her dog both being saved. While subject to change, the story is expected to air in the 4pm, 5pm, 6pm hours and possibly again in the 10pm hour.

Thank you, CBS13 CBS Sacramento, for coming out to highlight our incredible rescue team and to help us share general safety information as we head into a busy holiday weekend.

09/01/2026

Great teamwork to all of the agencies involved!

08/31/2026

Our Drone Team started in early 2025 and it has been a very important resource in helping locate and make first contact with lost or stranded subjects. They use a variety of resources to help locate subjects including thermal vision and infrared cameras with infrared spotlights. We use them in almost every search and it has been such an amazing resource. We are very proud of our Drone Team and what they have accomplished so far!

08/26/2026

Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.