Honors bestowed on Search and Rescue members

WORLAND -On May 15, Washakie County Search and Rescue held its annual awards banquet catered by Chubby Cheeks BBQ to honor their Officer and Member of the Year. Members voted Neal Lockard Officer of the Year, and brothers Caleb, Ephraim, and Jed Risch of Ten Sleep were selected as Co-Members of the Year by a group of six officers.

This season's presentation also recognized Commander Dave Michel's 30 years of service. Michel started as a member, and then progressed to officer, sergeant and now commander. "I did not see myself being here as long as I have been," Michel said. "I thought it was a good opportunity to help the community and once I got started I got hooked."

Michel noted that, "The best part of the search is the find," and "being the first one at the scene and being their first sign of hope is a feeling like no other."

"The rescue I remember the most, I was lucky enough to be first one on the scene," Michel said. "The parents were there, but the father had wandered away from the truck to make a phone call and had gotten lost in a snowstorm. When I got there, we found the truck and three or four kids and their mother were safe and warm. The father was rescued the next morning, some frostbite, but alive. Finding the kids smiling back at you is pretty cool."

A lot has changed in Michel's 30 years with Search and Rescue, and he said the organization "wouldn't be where it's at today without the community."

"When we started, we had a half ton Suburban and that was our equipment, other than some miscellaneous ropes and gear," Michel remembered. "But all of the members would use their own equipment with no reimbursement. Whoever could help used their pickups, four-wheelers, snowmobiles, horses. Now we've got a pretty good arsenal of equipment to be able to do what we do. We have had businesses donate vehicles; people donate snowmobiles. Without the community's support we wouldn't have that."

A growth in technology has changed the playing field for Michel. He noted that people are often able to perform self-recues with the help of cell phones, resulting in different types of searches. E911 is able to give rescuers a set of coordinates that make for faster location. However, "Even with the technology that we have now, it is still challenging sometimes," Michel said. "There are a lot of searches that go on a day, maybe two depending on the resources we have on the ground trying to do what we can to find people."

Michel said that Search and Rescue is "pushing for a drone now" to aid rescuers in predicting obstacles, find people sooner, and help cut down on manpower and air support expenses. "That technology would help us immensely," Michel reported, "If we can get air support on the scene immediately, I think it would be a game changer."

On his 30 years of service, Michel said "It's very humbling; it honestly doesn't feel like 30 years. I don't know where the time has gone. I was very honored and very surprised. Time flies when you're having fun, and it's been a lot of fun. I wouldn't be where I'm at today without the group of guys that I work with. It takes all of us to do what we do. Everybody has their own area of expertise, and everybody comes together to make us the strong group that we are."