Team Information

• Supervisor: Deputy Chief Magenheimer, Interim GSAR Team Supervisor
• Description: The GSAR Team is supervised by a Sergeant and executes responsibilities for conducting inland search and rescue missions as well as above-water recovery missions. Team members are certified by the Illinois Search and Rescue Council after completing a basic wilderness search and rescue course.
• Membership: Click here for SAR Division membership information.

Training
Searchers are required to complete initial and ongoing training to maintain team membership. Probationary training consists of baseline content delivered through the Illinois Search and Rescue Council (ISARC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the McLean County Emergency Management Agency.Training regularly focuses on the application and demonstration of foundational search techniques employed by Searchers in the field. This includes directed practice of flanking skills and responsibilities, proficient conduct of an initial search, GPS use through geocaching exercises, expedited location of a subject via an efficiency search, and thorough evidence location. Training typically involves a variety of scenarios and terrains and often incorporates broader emergency management concepts which allow for collaboration with the Field Operations Division staff.

Certification
Searchers must earn ISARC certifications for basic land navigation and wilderness search and rescue.

Mission Types
Search and Rescue missions for which the GSAR Team typically deploys include the following subject profiles. This is not an inclusive list, but rather the most common subject profiles based on past mission information.

• Dementia
• Despondents
• Runaways
• Children/Adolescents (various ages)
• Boaters
• Campers