Sadie Walsh was just 16 years old and had been working as a volunteer for the Multnomah County Search and Rescue team for four years when she got the call.<\/p>\n
It was early September, and a man had fallen and died during a hike in the Columbia River Gorge. She and other teen volunteers were needed to go help recover his body so that his family could identify him.<\/p>\n
Walsh is among the hundred or so teens between the ages of 13 and 18 who spend months training to be part of Multnomah County\u2019s search and rescue program. The teens agree to be available around the clock and at a moment\u2019s notice to search for lost hikers, skiers and others who need help in the Columbia River Gorge, up on Mount Hood and beyond. <\/p>\n
Calls like the one about the missing hiker, where Walsh gets to interact with the family and friends of the person she\u2019s looking for, are the most impactful, she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt really reminded me that the work we do matters and has a very direct impact on the community at large and also specific people,\u201d Walsh said. <\/p>\n
Formal training to become an EMT paramedic isn\u2019t until 18, but teens who participate in search and rescue go through six months of lessons and hands-on training before they can be dispatched for missions. They are expected to have a \u201csearch pack\u201d ready to grab and go at all times, with warm, dry layers, equipment and 48 hours worth of food.<\/p>\n
When teens go into the field, they run the show, said Gabriel Macdonald, an assistant team leader, two year volunteer and a student at Cleveland High School.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just us in the field, it\u2019s almost completely youth, and all of the leadership is youth,\u201d Macdonald said. <\/p>\n
Those teens rise to the occasion when facing inherent risks in the field, Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O\u2019Donnell said via email.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur search and rescue youth volunteers demonstrate a level of responsibility and maturity that is beyond their years,\u201d Morrisey O\u2019Donnell wrote. \u201cWhen they are called into action, they consistently exceed our expectations by navigating challenging terrain, supporting mission logistics and working as part of a coordinated team. These experiences teach our youth volunteers accountability and decision-making in real-world situations, and they embrace those responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
At school, adults are teachers or parents or coaches, and they are the ones in charge, said Calvin Yalon, a two year member and an assistant team leader, who attends La Salle High School. <\/p>\n
But at search and rescue, he said, \u201cit\u2019s not about age. It\u2019s more about the chain of command.\u201d <\/p>\n
Yalon, who loves being outdoors, joined in September 2024 after a friend referred him to the program. Now, as an assistant team leader of \u201cBravo\u201d team, one of four teams within the program, he said he enjoys every mission. <\/p>\n
Teens in search and rescue say they offer something different to the job than their adult colleagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is really beneficial to give power to youth. I don\u2019t think there is really any reason to limit the trust that we put in kids\u2026we do the exact same caliber of work as all the adult search and rescue units,\u201d says Walsh. <\/p>\n
Walsh joined the program when she was 13 and is now the president of the county\u2019s search and rescue squad. She can say something not many other teens or programs can: \u201cI am a first responder at 16.\u201d <\/p>\n
Walsh says search and rescue has made her a more compassionate and confident person, especially after her experience during the recovery mission of the man who died in the Gorge. After recovering the body, she and her team carefully carried it down in a litter back to the rest of the team who were with the man\u2019s father. <\/p>\n
Team members created a circle around the father, turning their backs and giving him privacy with his son. Later on, Walsh said, the man\u2019s father thanked her and other volunteers, both for gently handling his son\u2019s body and for giving him a moment for quiet grief.<\/p>\n
Active missions can take just a couple hours or stretch over many days. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to be really good at communicating with your teachers, with your parents, with the school you go to,\u201d said Macdonald. <\/p>\n
Many members discuss with their school and teachers ahead of time what it means if they get a call about a mission. When they receive a call, they immediately let their teacher know before leaving. Yalon, Macdonald and Walsh all said that teachers are very understanding, whether that\u2019s getting an extension, or getting class notes later. <\/p>\n
Parents and friends help too: Yalon\u2019s mom would drive him to meetings at the beginning of his participation in search and rescue, and his friends would catch him up in classes he missed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m able to juggle search and rescue because of the help I get from others,\u201d Yalon said. <\/p>\n
There are specific times where members do go off call, like at work, or during important tests like the SAT.<\/p>\n
Yalon says he usually doesn\u2019t have to drive more than an hour to get to a rescue site, but if there does happen to be a search or rescue further out, the responders are given more notice to prepare and plan.<\/p>\n
In addition to learning vital rescue skills, Macdonald said being part of search and rescue has also taught him about time management and how to juggle his commitments:\u201cjust keeping that balance is just something you always need to be aware of,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Ta Adams Keller, the head advisor for the search and rescue program, said she\u2019s enjoyed seeing how much teens who volunteer for the program grow over their years of service. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not often that youth are given real world responsibility today. We teach self confidence, self reliance, and teamwork. Our members understand the weight of the job we ask them to do, and readily step up year after year,\u201d said Adams Keller. <\/p>\n