Originally Posted By: JBMat
Just for the sake of argument - You are in charge of the local SAR team. The decision to be made is yours and yours alone.

Two people are lost, in the same general area, but in opposite directions. There is only enough personnel/resources/time to mount one SAR. Incoming weather will degrade conditions in a short time.

Victim one is a depressed teen who has expressed a desire to die. He has driven to a remote area and left his car.

Victim two is an older gentleman who suffers from the early effects of a disease leaving him confused at times.

Who gets rescued?

(sucks to be King sometimes, huh??)


Answer: both. SARs are typically organized at the county level. If your county SAR is overwhelmed, they involve the SAR from neighboring jurisdictions. They can search across borders easily enough. Mutual assistance etc. SARs work together all the time.

I don't think you can posit enough SAR scenarios that would force SAR to make a value judgment about the lost people being reckless, etc.