To provide dogs and handlers qualified in wilderness, cadaver, water and disaster searches to assist in missing person incidents within the Commonwealth of Virginia in support of the State Search and Rescue program and/or when requested by the appropriate federal, state or local agents.
We are a Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteer team of K-9 handlers based in the Richmond area. We provide K-9 Search and Rescue services for law enforcement and other various agencies the Commonwealth of Virginia and the surrounding states on request. We provide these services at no cost to the taxpayers of Virginia. We are one of six state-recognized K-9 search groups and a member of the Virginia Search and Rescue Council (VASARCO). We respond to missing person situations in wilderness, rural, and urban areas. These have included missing and runaway children, Alzheimer’s and nursing home walk-aways, flash floods, suicides, drowning and tornado/disaster, and evidence recovery on missing or cold cases.
For more than 35 years, we’ve served the Commonwealth of Virginia in a professional volunteer capacity. Team members specialize in various SAR categories, including Live Find Air-Scent Dogs, Water Recovery Dogs, and Land Cadaver or Human Remains Detection (HRD) Dogs.
We train weekly, year round, in the rain, in the blistering hot summer, in the freezing cold, in swamps, forests, mountains, and in urban settings. We train for one reason ... so that others may live.
We are dispatched by Virginia Department of Emergency Management by request from law enforcement to provide services in the event of a missing person or human remains recovery. Volunteers are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We are a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit. Your generous tax-deductible donation makes a difference and helps us save lives. Your donation goes directly to our mission and helps us keep up-to-date on equipment. Our volunteer efforts are self-funded, and our volunteers are unpaid. Outside of donations, there are many ways you can help support us.
We are always looking for prospective members; no experience is required. Our members come from all walks of life and ages if you are interested in learning more about how to join our team or are an experienced SAR K-9 handler. We also have need for volunteers in special instances.
Learn more about how to join our team.
