Between July 1 and August 5, Summit County Search & Rescue received 21 calls and deployed to 16 of those.
Summit County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Kacey Bates said that’s good—authorities want people to call SAR if they or someone they know is in trouble—but sometimes the information is out of date.
“Some of the calls that we're receiving, we're going up and the individual isn't lost—they're sitting there camping, and they said, ‘No, I'm not supposed to be back until tomorrow,’” Bates said.
She recommends those heading into areas without cell service make a clear plan with their loved ones who do have cell service, and stick to that plan.
Satellite devices like Garmin InReach or SPOT trackers can send messages without service too.
Saturday, August 3, SAR was called out to Rockport Reservoir by a jet skier’s family members. He’d last made contact with them at 3 a.m. when he reported he’d run out of gas and had to swim back to shore.
Rescuers found him asleep in his vehicle.
SAR deployed to 90 total calls in 2023, 94% of those from non-Summit County residents.
In the winter, calls are concentrated in January and February. But August is, historically, the busiest time of the year.
