By Mary O’KEEFE

On Oct. 18, the Montrose Search and Rescue team will be celebrating its 70th anniversary. The search and rescue team is composed of volunteers who have been trained through the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept.

MSAR members are dispatched from the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. The volunteers receive $1 a year as payment and they are on call 24/7. Their main patrol area is within the Angeles National Forest. They receive some support from the Sheriff’s Support Group, but pay for their uniforms and much of their equipment themselves.

Members are from all walks of life, with careers from medical to maintenance, and all bring their own special skills to the training.

MSAR members can be found every weekend patrolling Angeles Crest Highway, responding to vehicles that went over the side, hikers who are reported lost and fires that were sighted. They are often called out of the area, throughout California and, at times, to other states, to support the search by other teams for lost hikers. When they aren’t on calls, they spend their weekends in training.

On Sept. 24, MSAR will be holding a fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Newcomb’s Ranch on the Crest at mile marker 50.93

“People can buy lunch for $35 at the door or $30 for preorders,” said Dep. Jeff Martin.

They will be selling T-shirts as well as part of the fundraiser.

In the next few weeks, as the anniversary date approaches, CV Weekly will be looking back at some of the more poignant MSAR rescues. If anyone has stories they would like to share about MSAR, please email mary@cvweekly.com.

  Mary Okeefe