The search for a missing hiker is on hold while Nevada County authorities try to find a gunman who shot a volunteer rescuer in the hip. The injured man is one of about 240 search-and-rescue volunteers from Placer County.
The volunteer who was shot is Steve Wolf, a 69-year-old man who lives in Newcastle. Placer County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Troy Sander says Wolf has been a search and rescue volunteer for more than 10 years.
"We consider all of our volunteers professional sworn staff a family here at Placer Sheriff. So what happened to Steve is personal to all of us," says Sander.
He says search and rescue volunteers come from all walks of life and donate their own time to meet strident minimum standards and ongoing training requirements.
"Moms, dads, grandpas, grandmas, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters," says Sander. "They're cut from every fabric of life and they're just outstanding people."
Sander says search and rescue volunteers also dedicate their time to searches out of Placer County when requested which was the case yesterday when Wolf was injured in Nevada County.
The gunman remains at large.
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today