| Founder(s) | John Wehbring, Wes Reynolds and Will Tapp |
|---|---|
| Type | Public Safety, Search and Rescue |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Location | San Diego County, CA |
| Origins | 1967 Picacho del Diablo rescue[1] |
| Area served | United States |
| Method | Mountain Rescue, Rope Rescue, Avalanche Rescue |
| Volunteers | 72 |
| Motto | A volunteer organization dedicated to saving lives through search, rescue, and mountain safety education. |
| Website | sdmrt.org |
The San Diego Mountain Rescue Team (SDMRT) is an all-volunteer organization located in San Diego County, CA operating under the jurisdiction of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. With approximately seventy active members, SDMRT responds to calls at any time to search and rescue missing, injured or stranded persons in San Diego County and, through mutual-aid requests, to other counties within the state of California. SDMRT is a fully accredited member of th international Mountain Rescue Association[2] as well as an accredited Type I Mountain Search and Rescue Team.[3] SDMRT routinely works with the San Diego Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Bureau and San Diego's Aerial Support to Regional Enforcement Agencies (ASTREA) on operations within the county. On operations outside of San Diego County, SDMRT works under the particular Agency Having Jurisdiction for the region in question.
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In February 1967, two Claremont College students set out to climb the 10,154 foot tall Picacho del Diablo, the highest mountain in Baja California. They did not return to school and were reported missing. After a week-long search by Los Angeles-area mountain rescue teams the couple was found severely debilitated, near death, and were rescued from the upper canyons of the mountain.[4] Individuals who participated in the Picacho del Diablo rescue were inspired to found the San Diego Mountain Rescue Team, and it was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1968.