2022 Applicant Information Sessions
If you are interested in joining the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit, the first step is to attend one of our Applicant Information Sessions. This one-hour meeting (held three times per year) will explain what it takes to be a successful volunteer with IMSARU, and will answer any questions you have about the team. Attending an Information Session is required before applying for membership. Membership applications will be available at the end of the session.
The following Applicant Information Sessions are scheduled for 2022:
Thursday January 20th at 6:00pm
Thursday May 19th at 6:00pm
Thursday September 22nd at 6:00pm
Meetings are held in person at our compound: 2519 S Federal Way, Boise Idaho.
Latest Posts
2021 has been an incredible year for the K9 team at IMSARU!
We are proud to announce that four additional K9 handler and dog teams have been newly certified within our unit. We also want to recognize the multiple advanced K9 certifications and recertifications accomplished to maintain operational status. Specifically:
* K9 Raven (with handler Maya) and K9 Tako (with handler Jen) both certified as a wilderness cadaver team
* K9 Stella Blue (with handler Brian) certified as a wilderness live find team
* K9 Terabyte (with handler Tom) certified as a trailing team
In addition, these K9s and handlers put in the hard work to advance their expertise and added new certifications and maintained their existing certifications this year:
* K9 Brewster (with handler Christi) certified as a land human remains detection (HRD) team and re-certified as a wilderness live find team with cadaver awareness
* K9 Kikka (with handler Arnoldo) certified as an advanced cadaver team
* K9 Schatzi (with handler Lisa) certified as a cadaver team and re-certified as a wilderness live find team with cadaver awareness
* K9 Oskar (with handler Ann) certified as a shoreline water team and re-certified as an advanced cadaver team and as a land HRD team
* K9 Kato (with handler Jen) re-certified as a wilderness live find team
IMSARU K9s are certified with nationally-recognized organizations such as the National Search Dog Alliance and Tri-State K9. These certifications are required for deployment on searches, and reflect the years of hard work and dedication handlers put into training themselves and their K9 partners.
Special thanks also go to our amazing flankers and training subjects that spend endless hours hiding for our dogs and helping the teams achieve these incredible milestones in service of Idaho and the entire Mountain West.
AWESOME!!!
Congratulations to everyone, so proud of you all! <3
Way to go!!! These are amazing teams! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Thank you for what you do.
Once again, it's Giving Tuesday! We sincerely hope that as you consider your causes today you'll remember IMSARU in your plans.
IMSARU is an all-volunteer agency providing world-class search and rescue operations in Idaho for over 60 years. We rely on donations and support from the Idaho community for our annual operating budget.
Thank you so much in advance for your support today!
We at IMSARU hope everyone had a safe and rewarding Thanksgiving holiday!
Among the many things we're thankful for this season is the generous support we receive from donors, foundations, and other philanthropies. IMSARU is an all-volunteer organization, and these gifts are critical to supporting our mission by providing our operating budget.
In particular we would like to acknowledge a significant grant from the Forever Idaho Southwest Fund in the Idaho Community Foundation. We're so grateful to the Foundation for their support.
Thank you to all and here's to welcoming winter outdoors in Idaho!
Agreed. Thank you Idaho Community Foundation! 🧡
Bravo Zulu to our partners and friends with Boise County Sheriff's Office and East Boise County Ambulance District. Amazing work!
good job in a bad situation...
Great job, and Thanks for your service!
thank you you guys worked so hard in this cold terrible day
It's been gearing back up for our team here at IMSARU!
On October 10, we received a call for mutual aid from Elmore County Search and Rescue Team. A 67-year-old hunter had been reported missing in the Trinity Ridge area of the Boise National Forest. 14 members of our unit responded to the callout.
Fortunately, the hunter was found safe and in good health. Thank you to the Elmore County SAR team for the opportunity to assist!
Thankyou for all that you do!
IMSARU would like to say
thank you to all veterans on this Veterans Day. We're grateful
for your service!
Thankyou!
Thank you!
Wise tips indeed from our friends at Boise County Sheriff's Office!As things get colder we would like everyone to re-familiarize themselves with winter driving. Here are a few tips we hope you follow.
Boise County Sheriff's Office
Amen!
We at IMSARU agree with this advice below.
If you have cell limited service, trying to communicate by voice is not the best solution. Sending a text message with the same info (or a map pin) to friends and/or family is far better as it conserves battery life, which degrades more quickly in cold weather.
One of the specialized tools that we have in our toolbox is the ability to send YOU a text message that allows us to track your current location using your cell phone. If you wind down your battery too fast then that's one less tool we have available to communicate with you.
In all cases, the general guidelines of backcountry safety always make a difference:
1) Let people know where you're going, how you're getting there, and when you expect to arrive. This makes it easier for authorities to trace your expected route if you don't arrive as expected. This is perhaps the most important and often overlooked step. Then, try to stay on that route as best you can so you're easier to locate as authorities come looking.
2) Carry supplies when you travel in the event you get stranded. Warm clothing, extra food and water, first aid supplies, flashlight/headlamp and spare batteries, and the ability to make fire if you need to. Double check your spare tire is in good condition and ensure you have the tools with you and knowledge of how to change a tire if you need to.
3) Consider how you would communicate along your route of you ran into trouble. Idaho has relatively little cell phone coverage, even along well-traveled state highways. Bring a spare charger for your phone that doesn't require your car, and research other communication options in an emergency, such as ham radio or satellite communication devices such as a SPOT or a Garmin InReach.
Be safe, Idaho friends! Get out there any enjoy all of what our beautiful state has to offer!Recently a Facebook post has gone viral telling people to "update their voice mail" if their battery is going low. This is not the best advice, and will likely not work. We would like to ask that you not follow this advice, clarify why this is bad advice, and suggest better options.
Edit: Unfortunately, we have turned off comments and are going through and deleting comments that do not meet our clearly posted page guidelines to keep comments respectful and kind. We welcome and encourage commenting and sharing ideas and experiences, as well as respectful discussion. Since many comments have moved over into personal attacks and name-calling, we are shutting it down.
STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE, STAY NEAR A ROAD OR TRAIL. If you have any battery life, send a text message. It only takes a fraction of a second of data reception to get that message out. This has a much better chance to make it through than updating your voice mail.
Why is the circulated post/meme poor advice?
1. Anything using voice on your phone uses up far more battery than texts/SMS. Do not use voice if your battery is running low.
2. A detailed SMS message uses a fraction of the data that a voice message uses, and can transmit using a much weaker signal than a voice call requires. If you have a weak signal, SMS will transmit when voice will not.
3. If you don’t have a signal, you can’t change your VM. Don’t waste your battery attempting this
What should you do instead?
If you have a signal and plenty battery-power, call 911. Be sure to have your location with GPS coordinates ready.
But this scenario deals with low battery power and poor signal...
1. Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth and put your phone in airplane mode (or turn off cellular) to conserve power.
2. Compose an SMS message to all your trusted contacts. Text only - no images or attachments. Write where you are (as best as you can, bonus points for GPS coordinates!), your condition, and any info needed to locate you. It is FAR easier for a hasty team to locate a vehicle on a road/trail than to locate a person that has gone off into the brush. You can also text 911, but be aware that text 911 is NOT functional in all areas of the country.
3. When you are happy with your detailed SMS message, turn off airplane mode (or turn your cellular back on), send, and cross your fingers that your tiny SMS data-packet gets out to us! Outgoing texts will retry for a while if low/no signal, then cancel. Check to make sure your text went out. Moving a little to avoid hills and trees may help.
4. STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE, STAY NEAR A ROAD OR TRAIL.
5. If that doesn’t work, our team will be sending in Thing 1 (pictured) and Thing 2 to get you. (Assuming you told someone where you were going and when you'd be back. You did remember to tell someone your plans, right?)
Skamania County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue
Patricia Williams looks like Idaho search and rescue shared the Skamania post 😀
There are very good small solar chargers available. Just keep them charged and it may come in handy.
I think it was just meant to be attempted as a back-up plan.
Good idea
This past weekend, our Tech Team used this month's training as an excuse to do some clean up in the desert. All said and done we got five reps in on the highline, and pulled two pickup loads of garbage out of a local cave!
Well done IMSRU!
Right on!
IMSARU Tech Team rocks!
Higby cave?
Looks like Kuna Cave
I'm with Jake that's it's Higgbe cave South of Gowen field
HIgby cave? Been there.
Well done team!
Looks like Eureka cave out toward Mountain Home
Thanks for picking up the trash, but in reality, that should have never happened, as the people who did this, should be made to pick it up!
It does look similar to Higby, but that's not Higby.
Looks like Bear Trap cave. North of Minidoka.
Just moments ago, the final call for Garden Valley Fire Protection District - Idaho's Chief Jon Delvalle was sounded. Chief Delvalle succumbed to complications related to COVID-19 yesterday.
IMSARU wishes to extend our deepest condolences to Chief Delvalle's family, friends, and fellow firefighters, and express gratitude for his years of faithful service to the Garden Valley and Boise County communities.
Rest in eternal peace, Chief Delvalle, and godspeed.This is the toughest Facebook posting we’ve ever made.
It is with the deepest sympathy that we inform our community that Chief Jon Delvalle passed away on Tuesday, September 14th from complications of COVID-19. We ask that everyone in our community keep Chief Delvalle’s family and the many Garden Valley Fire Department volunteers and employees in their thoughts and prayers as we move through this most difficult time.
Chief Delvalle was a hero who will be greatly missed by everyone.
Super sorry for the loss. Get vaccinated!
Great news for IMSARU as we have a new 45-foot communications tower erected on our compound property in East Boise. As the old radio saying goes, “height makes might”, and this is quite a mighty addition to our mission capability!
As an all-volunteer non-profit agency, we’re grateful for the ongoing support from our financial supporters and philanthropies that allow us to make these improvements. Being able to have dedicated, reliable emergency communications, integrated with Idaho State Communications, has always been a must, and this new donation-driven enhancement is a next-level step.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.Woohooo!!!!!!
Looks incredible! Many thanks to all of you mentioned, and unmentioned, who were instrumental in making this happen. Lives are truly going to be saved because of this.
Members of the IMSARU team got an opportunity to train with Cascade Raft & Kayak this past weekend. In all, twelve members attained the Swiftwater Rescue Technician I certification, covering life safety concepts such as swiftwater rope rescue scenarios, hydrology, vehicle-in-water rescues, flood disasters, and other techniques that are so valuable in our area.
Thank you again to Tren Long and the entire Cascade team. Anyone in the SAR or water sports community wanting world-class training, connect with them for sure.
Great picture, and thanks for your service
Congratulations!
Look at this great crew at the Western Idaho Fair! Come on by and get some fresh, hot, buttered corn at and help IMSARU raise some funds to support our unit!
As a friendly reminder, IMSARU is an all-volunteer registered non-profit. We'd love to see you at the fair!
Good time's
All this hoopla for what.? Not so impressed …
IMSARU's K9 team is an invaluable resource for searches of all types. We're so very lucky to have such skilled, certified K9s and handlers as part of the IMSARU family.
Click through for the video to see K9s Tako and Stella Blue showing their skills.
idahonews.com/news/local/k-9s-in-search-for-missing-five-year-old-michael-vaughan
K-9's being used in the search for missing five-year-old Michael Vaughan
idahonews.com
Since the night Michael Joseph Vaugh went missing, several search methods have been utilized to find the little boy, including the use of canines. The Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue unit (IMSARU) has been searching for five-year-old Michael Vaughan. Last week, they were deployed along with a canin...Good luck and good work!
❤️
It's TIME! We at IMSARU are SUPER excited to remind everyone that starting tomorrow you can get fresh, hot, locally grown corn on the cob at our booth at the Western Idaho Fair 2021!
As a reminder, IMSARU is an all-volunteer non-profit organization. The annual corn booth is one of our most important sources of fundraising revenue, so if you're attending the fair, please stop by and let us serve you, your family, and all of your friends some farm fresh buttery goodness! We'll be there every day through August 29th.
Look forward to seeing you there! Thanks in advance for your support!
Please stop buy our booth, buy some delicious corn on the cob, and support our local Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit - we serve so that others may live! Consider making a donation as well if you are able. Thanks!!
I remember this fun 🤩 shucked an awful lot of corn years ago lol with George and Charlotte gun
Thanks for all that you do!
Welcome back!!!! #2021. Thank you for all you guys do!!!
Always my favorite!!!
Terrell Couch cob it up!
We at IMSARU wanted to express our deepest condolences to the Mangum family and the entire Valley County SAR community. Capt. Larry Mangum was a pillar of service in the Idaho search and rescue community and he will be missed.
Details of the viewing and memorial service below.
Rest in eternal peace, Capt. Mangum.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.RIP sir 💙🇺🇸
Sincere condolences.
As has been reported, IMSARU has been actively participating in the search for Michael Vaughn, the five-year-old boy missing in Fruitland, Idaho. We were called in and asked to support the search by Fruitland law enforcement officials, and 23 of our members responded to aid in the ongoing search. The search continues today with a request by the incident leaders for members of the community to join.
Our thoughts go out to the Vaughn family and the Fruitland community and we will continue to support the effort however we can.
Search continues for missing and endangered 5-year-old in Fruitland, Idaho
www.ktvb.com
Michael Vaughn was last seen near SW 9th Street and S. Arizona Ave. in Fruitland on Tuesday evening. Crews and neighbors were out all day looking for the boy.Great job. Hoping for a positive outcome 🇺🇸
Thank you for being there. Hoping for a joyful reunion .
I'm a local paramotor pilot and would like to fly low around the area tomorrow to help out but don't want to be in the way of any official aircraft.. i have a call into Fruitland pd but have not heard back.. if someone has any contact information that would help out it would be much appreciated
Something important being shared here. While our unit vehicles are relatively modest in size, they’re still very large and we often need to pull our command trailer.
Bureau of Land Management Fire and U.S. Forest Service fire vehicles are much, much larger and may need to get into trailheads very quickly, especially in our current hot and dry conditions.
Please be thoughtful as you park accessing the trails. Thank you!Can you imagine if you had an emergency at one of the trailheads?
Please park respectfully and legally.
This photo is from last weekend at the Quandary Trailhead with one of our smaller apparatus. We need to be able to pull in, access compartments and gear as well as turn around. We know if it were your emergency you would want us there to help you. Thank you.
Amen!
Whether it's urban settings or wilderness, 105º or -10º, blazing sun or waist-high snow...when one of Idaho's agencies calls and asks for help, we come.
The end.Our fellow first responders are some of the best around! Caldwell Fire would like to extend a deep thank you to all the neighboring agencies who helped us with a search and rescue on Sunday. Your assistance was invaluable. And we can’t forget Canyon County Paramedics either!
Thankyou for your service!
Yesterday IMSARU received a callout to assist the Caldwell Fire Department, Payette County Sheriff's Office, and Caldwell Police Department in a search for a missing 14-year-old girl. 24 members responded to the search which was conducted over a period of approximately five hours.
We're grateful and relieved that she has been found safe and has been reunited with her family.
Missing Caldwell 14-year-old found safe
www.ktvb.com
"We would like to thank our amazing community for the assistance with this case," Caldwell PD wrote.Good to hear!
Did you find her