The Wayne County Sheriff's Office currently maintains a 12 man, volunteer team for Search and Rescue. This team is compiled of Community Citizens, many of which whom are members of local Rescue or Fire Departments. These members are furnished uniforms to identify them as Search and Rescue Members, but they are not sworn Deputy Sheriff's. SAR Team members do undergo the same background check as required to be a Law Enforcement Officer. This Team is commanded directly by Sheriff Carey Winders. All team members have been trained through the Sheriff's Office and Wayne Community College specifically for Search and Rescue Operations. To date, this team has greatly assisted our community with incidents such as lost individuals, evidence recovery, and security, just to name a few.

      In addition to the civilian volunteers, there is an Underwater Recovery Team staffed by 3 Deputies who are certified Divers. These Divers are utilized in all water Search and Rescue Operations as well as criminal investigations in or around water. The Underwater Recovery Team operates under the standard guidelines of the National Association of Police Divers. The mission of this Team is to provide departmental entities and Law Enforcement Agencies with underwater assistance as applicable to lifesaving, property and evidence recovery to aid investigations and to provide training and assistance to other police divers and personnel. The services of the SAR Team is available to any local agency requesting their special skills.