Gary has spent his entire life in Cedar City Utah. For anyone who knows Gary, you know that no matter what kind of day you’re having, minutes into your conversation with Gary you’re laughing. Whether it be at yourself or something else. He has a personality that lightens the air, but he is also a strong leader for the team, both for senior members and our newest volunteers.
Gary currently serves as the Iron County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (ICSSAR) Teams Captain. Back in April of 2012, through casual conversation with his neighbor and a co-worker, is when Gary learned about the SAR team. Interested in joining the team, he started attending the meetings. He was drawn to the team cohesiveness and started the process to become a formal member. Grab your favorite beverage (Coffee, Tea, #holdmybeer) and snack because we’ve got a good interview lined up for you today!
Gary immediately reflected on his first official call-out after he had been voted on as a rider. It was in June of 2012. There was an active wildfire, White Rock Fire, burning on the Utah/Nevada state line. Neptune Aviation Tanker 11 was dropping retardant on the fire when it clipped a tree and crashed. The SAR team was activated to respond. There were moments early in the response when Gary recalls wondering if he really wanted to volunteer to do this type of stuff, but quickly he knew he was in the right place. It was a scary response. The team was driving through the active wildfire trying to help get to the plane crash when the helicopter that was dropping lines told them to get out of the area and just then the fire overtook where they were. They were lucky to have turned back when they did. They helped to secure the scene and remove the deceased.
Over the years Gary has held various positions on the command staff. He has served as the Commander twice, Lieutenant and now as the captain. When he first joined, the team would use pagers for callouts. He remembers always having to carry his pager with him. They also just started using VHF radios. They didn’t have enough radios for everyone, so they would have to share them. Over the years the two biggest improvements Gary is proud to see has to do with the improvements in communications and the equipment for the team. Before we had so many side-by-side’s, snowmobiles and trucks, we had to use our own equipment, Gary said. The ability to improve our communications and equipment has tremendously improved our response time to scenes and cut down on the time it takes to complete a mission in the field.
I asked Gary if he wanted to share one of his most difficult callouts. He knew exactly without hesitation one of the most difficult responses he has worked on was a plane crash on SR-20 that took the lives of a dad and his 2 kids. It was difficult for Gary because he had two kids the same age at the time, and he remembers getting home the first night of the search efforts and his kids asking him if they found the missing dad and kids and it broke his heart that they didn’t find them. It was also difficult because it was Gary’s first time serving as Commander. He had to handle the logistics with 5 other counties coming to assist them, including the FAA needing to conduct their investigation and leading a team through a difficult search that ended with the unfortunate recovery of the bodies. Gary was just thankful to have such a good team that supported each other through all of that.
Many of our teammates will curse Gary for the next story, but he told me that his favorite calls are to Kanarra Falls. It’s a love hate relationship. He remembers one time he almost slipped and was fortunately caught by another member of the team but unfortunately ripped his pants from the thigh up. The other volunteers took advantage of the situation to take pictures. But it’s times like this that you will often see when the team is on searches together. Our priority is scene safety and the care of the injured party, and then second is enjoying time with our SAR friends we don’t get to see that often.
Although Gary grew up in Cedar City, had he not joined the SAR team, there are people he would have never had the opportunity to meet. These folks have turned into the better friends in his life, and he is thankful he has had the opportunity to meet them and volunteer with them. Ironically, being on the SAR team didn’t just open doors to making new friends, it also gave Gary career opportunities he would have never considered for himself. Because of his time volunteering and working so closely with the Sherriff’s Office Deputies and Cedar Police, he gained experience with securing scenes and conducting evidence searches. A part-time evidence job opened, and Gary jumped on it. And now he works full-time for the Cedar City Police Department conducting evidence collection.
Gary shared one last story with me. It was one of the best rescues he has been a part of. It was also during his time serving as the Commander. A fire fighter and his family were hiking in Kanarra Falls during a high flood watch. A storm had passed through, and they became ledged out trying to stay above the flood waters. The SAR team was activated along with other organizations, but the others opted out due to the danger. Gary contacted the weather service, and they confirmed the team had a 3–4-hour window to rescue the family before the next sever storm. When the team met at the trailhead, Gary emphasized that no one had to go due the inherent risk, but he was going because he wanted to help rescue the family. He said everyone who responded that day went in with Gary to rescue the family. As soon as they got the family to safety the next storm rolled through and completely washed out the area the family was in. Gary will never forget the selfless act of those volunteers that day.
If there is one thing Gary hopes you all know about the ICSSAR team, it’s truly how great these people are. The time, effort and dedication are something the community doesn’t always see. You see the posts about our call outs and how they can take 3, 4, 5 hours, but you don’t see the 400 hours spent on maintaining our equipment and the building. These volunteers want to help people they don’t know, and they don’t get paid a dime for it.
And if he can leave you with one public service announcement about safety, it’s to be prepared for the worst. 90% of our calls are because of people being under prepared or they underestimate the situation. He doesn’t want you to always have a doomsday mindset but have a be prepared mindset.
Please join me in thanking Gary for his 12 years of dedicated service and leadership with the Iron County Search and Rescue Team!
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