Lyon County NV – April 17, 2026
Message of the Week 04/17/2026
Tomorrow evening (4.18.2026), the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team will host their annual Bingo Night! This popular event raises the necessary money to purchase life vests for their Project Life Vest: Save a Child’s Life initiative. These life vests are given to children 13 years of age and younger at Lake Lahontan during the Memorial Day and Fourth of July Weekends. They are properly fitted to each one of the children, with the goal of preventing another tragic loss of a child at Lake Lahontan. I will be there, and I hope to see you there as well!
Some information about our Search and Rescue Team:
Lyon County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Division
In various environments such as mountains, deserts, bodies of water, or even in our own backyards, individuals can become lost, injured, or trapped. It is imperative that they are located and rescued regardless of the danger they face. The success of search and rescue missions hinges on the appropriate mix of personnel, training, and specialized equipment, all of which the Lyon County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue possesses.
In 2025, we mourned the loss of a cherished long-time member, K9 Inca, who will be greatly missed.
In 2025, Search and Rescue logged in 12,985 hours, which is equivalent to six full-time deputies. These hours are volunteer, saving the tax-payer over $900,000!
In 2025, Search and Rescue had seventy (70) calls for service as denoted below:
Persons with dementia who take off and get lost – 1
Stuck Vehicle – 1
Mutual Aid to Lahontan State Parks – 12
Mutual Aid – K9 Water Recovery -15
Report of a Human Skull and Evidence Search for more bones – 5
Missing Adult – 5
Night in the Country – 3
Stranded persons – 1
Missing child – 1
Missing Autistic child- 1
Water Recovery – 2
Evidence Search – 2
Security for Large Animal Cruelty Case from Storey County – 20
Flash Flooding – 1
Search and Rescue participated in thirty- eight (38) training days for the year 2025, which included the following:
Equipment Familiarization – 1
CPR / First Aid – 2
Quarterly Exercise – 4
Helicopter – 1
Ropes – 4
OHV Training – 2
HAZMAT – 1
4wd / Winching – 1
Investigative Man tracking and Search – 11
Boats -2
Technical Large Animal Rescue Overhead Exercise – 1
Amateur Radio Field Day – 2
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle – 2
Team Building – 1
Map/Compass/GPS – 1
US Naval Air Station Fallon – Crash and Evasion – 1
Radio Direction Finding for Downed Aircraft – 1
WOOF –
Search and Rescue participated in 21 Community Events which were:
Bingo Night for Project Life Vest – 1
Project Life Vest – 6
7 th Annual Kids Day in the Park – 4 locations
National Night Out – 1
Lyon County Parade – 1
Dayton Valley Days – 2
Fernley Intermediate School Outdoor Day – 1
Nevada Day Parade – 1
Cottonwood Elementary School Nevada Day – Hug a Tree – 1
Parade of Lights – 1
Stuff Santa’s Boot – 1
Trunk or Treat – Silver Springs Airport – 1
One of the Sheriff’s mandated duties is to maintain a Search and Rescue Unit and ensure its services are provided to County residents. The Search and Rescue Team is a well-run, well-organized group of volunteers that requires little oversight. They are on top of their operations, and we couldn’t be more proud of their service to this County.
Respectfully,
Sheriff Brad Pope
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