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• Past searches and callouts

So in March 1993 Foothills Search and Rescue was formed. The eight founding members elected Dave Hanna, Carl Verge (Turner Valley RCMP) and Dave Watt (Foothills Regional EMS) as their officers.

The fundamental SAR training was taught by the founding officers. There were no standards in place at that time, but the syllabus they set exceeded those that SAR Alberta would later promulgate.

Foothills SAR had no money whatsoever. The group relied on a small membership fee for postage, etc. and the members bought all their own equipment. The RCMP came to FSAR's assistance with radios, GPSs, and PIEPS for avalanche work. Members all worked at getting donations and selling raffle tickets to help with training costs.

With some great leadership, and big hearts, our group has withstood the test of time, and has grown to approximately 75 trained members. We have kept our standards high and take pride in our work.

Foothills SAR is based in the town of Turner Valley, about a 45 minute drive south of Calgary. Foothills's service area is bounded on the north by Calgary and Cochrane SAR, on the south by Pincher Creek SAR, to the south-east by Lethbridge Area SAR, and to the east by Medicine Hat's South East Alberta SAR. To the west of FSAR, the provincial and federal wardens and rangers take care of the provincial and federal parks and reserves.

We have performed search and rescue missions outside this area (for the Pine Lake Tornado, for example), but usually this is because the mission is so large that local SAR teams cannot handle it alone. We all work together to save lives.

We are committed to increasing public awareness of search and rescue and to providing safety and prevention programs. Our volunteers come from all walks of life, teachers, paramedics, students, technicians, mechanics, police officers, business people, etc. Besides the mandatory training in SAR fundamentals, first aid and CPR, many members have specialized skills in navigation and map reading, wilderness first aid, radio communications, helicopter landing zone preparation, tracking, swiftwater or rope rescue. This provides communities with a capable and experienced volunteer team to assist in search, rescue, disaster relief and evacuation situations.

Foothills Search and Rescue's members are ready to respond to an emergency at a moment's notice, 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

1998 SAR Games, SARScene, Banff, Alberta: Bronze medal
Team members: Mark Garbutt, Ron Rowson, Sharon Shier, Guy Sosnoski.

1999 SAR Games, SARScene, St. John's, Nfld: Eighth place.
      Team members: Mark Garbutt, Heather Kerr, Paul Krich, Bill O'Conner.

2000 SAR Games, SARScene, Laval, Québec.
      no Foothills team entered.

2001 SAR Games, SARScene, Whitehorse, Yukon: Gold Medal.
      Team members: Paul Krich, Laura Morrison, Lee Schneider, Sharon Shier.

2002 SAR Games, SARScene, Halifax, N.S.: Gold Medal.
      Team members: Paul Krich, Laura Morrison, Lee Schneider, Sharon Shier.

2003 SAR Games, SARScene, Kingston, Ontario.       no Foothills team entered.

2004 SAR Games, SARScene, Calgary, Alberta: Silver Medal.
      Team members: Jim Evans, Lee Schneider, Susan Turner, Laura Morrison.

We do not telephone solicite. We only raise money by helping at communitee events and donations mailed to us. A tax receipt will be issued for any donations.

Donors:

STARS Chain of Survival
Foothills Lions Club
RCMP Turner Valley
Order of the Eastern Star
Cargill
Talisman Petroleum
Okotoks Rural Crime Watch
Encana
Square Butte Ladies Group
Devon Corporation
ATCO Pipelines
Compton Petroleum
Bill and Sharon Bieber
Shaw Communications
Tim Kelly
Don Reid
G. Hilton
Kathleen Ellum
RBC Turner Valley Staff
Windridge Construction
Signs "N" Such
Ed Williams and Family
The Canadian Motor Company
Penzoil Corp.
SDS Consulting
Oilfields Hospital
Executive Mat Srvice
Bennett & Jones
Global Survfeys
Technologyworks
Town of Turner Valley
Town of Black Diamond
Bank of Montreal (Okotoks)
Carpet Baggers
NGK Spark Plugs
Planet Auto
Automotive Parts Distributors
Skyline Design Ltd.
Valtus Imagery Services

If you wish to donate, please send a cheque to:

Foothills SAR
P.O. Box 549
Turner Valley, Alberta
CANADA T0L 2A0

Because police officers and/or conservation officers are at all searches as representatives of the tasking agencies, they are not usually listed below.

Note: Searches are usually named for the individual or group. Aircraft searches used to be named after the pilot, now are identified by the aircraft registration. Searches for children are usually named after the location to protect their identity. To further help protect the subjects and their families, the information given here is usually limited to less than what was reported in the media, and the location of the search is vague.