BY JIM BLANKS | PHOTOS BY DAVID SWANN

Deputy Eric Schmidt still clearly remembers arriving near Rae Lake in October 2004. Just twenty-four hours after performing a rain-soaked rescue near Hume Lake, Schmidt and the Fresno County Search and Rescue Team were back on the job. This time, four members of the Bargetto Winery family had gone missing in the wilderness. Six inches of snow had already wiped away all signs of trails, and a larger storm was building. “Overnight, another foot of snow had fallen,” Schmidt says, recalling the struggle to find footing in the fresh powder. “The storm was much colder, very wet, and the snow was pilling up.”

Still, Schmidt and two deputies pressed forward, hiking through waist-high snow, fighting forty-mile-an-hour winds, and never once losing focus on the fact that there were four people in the wilderness waiting to be found.

“We would walk twenty-five to thirty feet before exhaustion made us stop,” Schmidt says. “Visibility was almost zero. The snow would not stop falling from the sky.”

Deputy Jared McCormick, one of the other men assigned to this mission, remembers the night: “We sought shelter by digging snow caves. This was a real eye opener for how brutal Mother Nature can be.”

Meanwhile, a second search and rescue mission was taking place near Mystery Lake, this one headed by Sergeant Kathy Curtice.

“Having two searches running at the same time greatly limited our resources,” Curtice says. “And conditions were just about the worst possible.”

Deputy Matthew Hamilton, part of the Mystery Lake search team, agrees. “We were sinking up to our waists every step we took. It took several hours just to travel a quarter mile. I can remember the hose to my Camelbak froze solid.”

No Turning Back

With two desperate searches happening in frigid, blizzard conditions, it wouldn’t be surprising if search teams quit, packed up their gear, and hiked out of the mountains. But Sergeant Curtice may have said it best: “If a person is lost in the wilderness and in need of rescue, there is nobody to call other than this team.”

There was a fortunate break in the weather, and after four days of searching, slogging through deep powder and camping in sub-freezing conditions, the Fresno County Search and Rescue Team was successful. With the help of the Sheriff’s Department helicopter, Eagle One, the team found and recovered the missing hikers from both parties.

Deputy Schmidt remembers arriving by helicopter and helping the Bargetto family to safety: “The helicopter would not land so we had to jump about eight feet into the snow. The snow was up to our necks, but once we dug our way out we made our way to the family.”

“They were extremely happy,” Schmidt continues. “They had socks on their hands. Their camp was demolished by snow and wind.” But the important part was they were safe. And they were going home. This is the ultimate goal for the Fresno County Search and Rescue team, an eighteen-member squad that remains on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The team is one of the few in the nation that will search around the clock for a missing person.

“We all have our regular assignments at the Sheriff’s office,” Deputy Joe Smith explains. “We do this in addition to what we already do full-time. And once you’ve made the team, you are available any- time, 365 days a year. Once the mission is sent out to our pagers, we respond.”

Ready For Anything

This often means leaving in the middle of the night, or in the case of the Bargetto Search and Rescue, working two missions back-to-back. The team is trained in many areas, including swift water rescue, technical rope rescue scenarios, and summer and winter wilderness survival tac- tics. Although they prepare mostly for the high Sierras, team members are ready for any type of extreme climate.

Even with extensive training, Deputy Hamilton says, that most of the learning takes place on the job.

“It is one thing to learn certain techniques in a controlled envi- ronment, and another to apply what you have learned in a real-life situation. Rescues are often very stressful, dynamic, and dangerous situations that require split-second decision-making. Real-life experience is something that can’t be gained in a classroom setting.”

Sergeant Curtice agrees, and she should know: In 1998, she began as a Deputy Sheriff with the Search and Rescue Team, and now is one of four supervisors. She is responsible for leading missions, and she says that experience plays a large role in the success of the team.

Working the Probabilities

“Without a doubt, experience makes a difference,” Curtice says. “Mis- sions are uniquely different, but we do have areas of the county to which we return time and time again. The prior experience allows us to look at probabilities.”

Although probabilities do not guarantee success, they are used to aid the Search and Rescue Team; team members can more easily and accurately assess a situation by comparing it to previous missions. This method of using probabilities to determine possible outcomes is used statewide, and statistics have been gathered to form a database of what different types of behavior will typically be seen on a given search. “For example,” Curtice says, “statistics show that fishermen, hunters, and hikers will all behave differently from each other when lost. Our job when managing searches is to attempt to figure out these probabilities, and then try to contain our missing person within that

geographical area.” Unfortunately, when people become lost in the wilderness, they don’t always follow the expected plan. Most Search and Rescue team members say that the biggest mistake people make when they are lost is they keep moving. They try to find a way to safety, and many times only make the situation worse.

“They always seem to head downhill, believing that if they find a creek or river, it will take them to a lake or town,” Deputy McCormick says. This is not always true, and could cause you to walk right out of a search area.”

“Often times when people become lost, they begin to panic, which negatively influences their decision-making skills,” Deputy Ham- ilton adds. “Stay put, use sticks or branches to form a HELP sign in an open clearing, and use what you can, bright-colored clothes or a mirror to reflect the sun, to signal aircraft.”

Hug A Tree

The most important thing to remember, team members agree, is to leave an itinerary with family members and friends, and then do not stray from the planned route. At elementary school assemblies, the Fresno Search and Rescue Team teaches children to “Hug a Tree.” This shows children the importance of staying in one place and waiting to be rescued. Team members say people who are lost should not attempt to self-rescue, but should leave this dangerous process to trained professionals.

Sometimes, the rescue mission can be especially dangerous. In addition to the Bargetto Winery Search and Rescue, more recently team members were called upon to find two hikers that had gone missing near Edison Lake. The search team found one of the missing hikers, tired, hungry, and frostbitten on his fingers. The other hiker had fallen off a steep embankment and died from his injuries.

Still the Search and Rescue Team was not finished. If a person cannot be saved, the team will make sure to recover the body if possible, even if this means putting themselves in danger. Deputies used rope systems and rappelled down the cliff until they reached the body, then placed it into a specialized bag. The bag was then attached to a rope, which was attached to the Eagle One helicopter. The body and the deputies were later safely transported back to Edison Lake.

The Fresno Search and Rescue Team is committed to saving lives, and to rescuing people in need.

“We provide a service to every member of our county,” Deputy Smith says. “We use any means possible to search for and rescue a lost or injured person. We do so until we’ve exhausted all our efforts.”

All-Terrain Team

These efforts include mountain searches, swift-water rescues, and even urban searches for missing children or at-risk missing adults. It was the Fresno Search and Rescue Team that located Alex Mercado, a missing child that was recently found in Mendota. The team also joins other agencies during particularly large or difficult searches.

“The Search and Rescue Team is unique because we incorporate a large amount of volunteers and other agencies,”

Deputy Hamilton says. “These include Mountaineers, Jeep Squadron, Snowmobile Team, and the Air Squadron.”

So, if you find yourself stranded in the wilderness, if you are stuck on a trail or are caught in a sudden snowstorm, do not panic. Help is on the way. “Stay calm,” Deputy Schmidt says. “Our deputies are trained to abilities beyond the normal person and will take the risks necessary to bring lost people back to their families safely.” Like heroes in the night, the Fresno Search and Rescue Team is never  far, and will do everything possible to save the lives of those in need. “If we didn’t do it, who would?” Sergeant Curtice says. “As the last resort for help, we will go—no matter what.”

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