North and south SAR crews combine forces

Big Horn County’s north and south Search and Rescue squads have officially combined forces to become one crew. The volunteer groups have always provided aid for one another, but starting a couple months ago, dispatch began paging both squads at once, bringing the initial first responder call up from 30 to 60 SAR members. 

“This has been a thing we wanted to do for a number of years... now was the time to do it,” said South BHC SAR Captain Jeff Schmidt. 

North BHC SAR Captain Wes Mangus agreed. The duo attributed the change partially to an increase in call numbers, and partially to a funding change. Schmidt noted that only five years ago, the SAR teams tackled about 20-25 calls a year combined. In 2025, they saw 54 calls. Schmidt estimated 70% of missions originated on the south end of the county. 

“We were just getting overloaded,” Schmidt said. “We’re burning out people on the south end.” Now the calls can rotate through a roster of 60 volunteers. 

Big Horn County Search and Rescue’s budget dropped from $106,913 for 2024-25 to $50,000 for 2025-26 due largely to property tax cuts. In response, the Big Horn County Search and Rescue Foundation nonprofit was formed to support the organization. Mangus noted that on the fundraising side of things, it is easier to demonstrate need for grant applications with 60 members, rather than 30 on each squad. 

The cost to train SAR responders is high. Schmidt reported their training budget, if multiple members needed certified at once, could exceed the total annual budget, at $2,500 a person for backcountry rescue certification and $1,800 each for swift water and rope rescues. 

The first call of the summer where both teams were dispatched and responded came from the McCullough Peaks area, where a couple became stuck on a two-track in their pickup. After three hours trying unsuccessfully to free themselves, the couple called in SAR. Both squads responded, and both reported success. The geographic location of the call allowed members from both the north and south to respond easily, increasing initial volunteer turnout. Mangus noted that new mapping software allows commanders to send a map to every member of the team; it then tracks where each person has searched, so everyone knows when an area has been covered.

“It’s going to streamline things,” Mangus said of the change. 

As far as how the two captains will split duties, “It’s 100% joint, there’s no ‘[Schmidt’s] the boss, I’m the boss,’” Mangus said. When a call is received on one distinct end of the county, the geographically closer captain will take control of operations, with the other stepping in on arrival. In the future, Schmidt hoped they could split management roles so that he could focus on operations, where he is more experienced, while Mangus tackles missions and incident command. 

“There’s no reason to have one end vs. the other,” Mangus said. 

“We are one county,” Schmidt said. 

A benefit for the Big Horn County Search and Rescue Foundation will be held in Greybull City Park Aug. 22 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Food trucks, beer and wine, music and games will offer entertainment, with a gun raffle starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.bighorncountysearchandrescue.org. A custom-built rifle engraved with the Big Horn County SAR logo will be up for auction, with online bidding beginning two weeks before the event and ending at 6:30 p.m. Aug 22. 

Three to four slots remain open for SAR volunteers, with enrollment in April and October.