The Waldo County Search and Rescue team is an all-volunteer, certified search team that deploys throughout the state to locate and rescue missing persons. Working under the auspices of the Maine Warden Service, the team searches for missing hikers, hunters and children, as well as people suffering with dementia, Alzheimer’s or who have mental or emotional challenges. They are also occasionally deployed to help with active homicides and other law enforcement cases, searching for clues or victims or both.

The team consists of folks of all ages, from all walks of life — teachers, business owners, retirees, students, firefighters, EMTs. The common thread among them is a love for the outdoors, and a willingness to travel all over the state to lend a hand.

Many of them are registered Maine Guides, and all of them are dedicated to keeping their outdoor skills sharp, so that when deployed they work as an efficient, well-trained team.

These individuals pay for their own gear, transportation, and much of their training out- of-pocket. So when it became obvious that their handful of Global Positioning System (GPS) units were becoming sorely outdated, it was decided that the team would write grants, hold fundraisers, and figure out a way to make the purchase. With the help of the Maine Community Foundation, they did just that.

“Our goal is to make every member of this team a potential team leader,” said Gary Drinkwater, who has been team director for more years than he cares to count.

“When we arrive at the wardens’ staging area for a search, the wardens are often looking for experienced individuals capable of leading a group through the woods on a mission,” he said, in a news release. “Several of our team members have been tasked with leading other groups; our goal is for each member to be capable of doing so.”

With the new, more user-friendly GPS units, they are well on their way to achieving that goal.

When the units arrived in August, the group got busy with training, with practice search scenarios at Mt. Battie in Camden, as well as during drills at properties owned by team members. And the training continues, with the next sessions scheduled for February and March.

“We are most grateful to the Maine Community Foundation for this grant,” said Mary Hauprich, team secretary. “We would’ve had to have a lot of spaghetti dinners to pay for these. Our old units were over 10 years old, and we only had four. This grant has launched our team to a new level, and the members are loving it.”

The Waldo County Search and Rescue team meets monthly in and around Belfast, and on occasional weekends.

The team welcomes citizen interest, and membership is open to anyone able to pass a general fitness requirement, willing to train, and wanting to lend a hand. Contact Director Gary Drinkwater for more information at (207) 338-3394 or email Mary Hauprich at hauprich13@gmail.com.