By Tom Meyer

BONANZA STAFF WRITER

Though most end happily, there sometimes comes a point when a "search and rescue" operation becomes a "salvage and recovery" effort. Even with lowered expectations for success, conditions can still prevent rescuers from finding - let alone recovering - a body.

"When we get a call of a reported drowning, the reporting party is usually pretty emphatic that the victim fell in at one particular place," said Sgt. Russ Pedersen, who heads the Washoe County Sheriff's Office's search & rescue teams. "However, our experience has shown that it's very difficult for people to determine their location in the water. They can easily drift hundreds of yards without knowing it, or lose their bearings when they go back to shore to get their cell phone. A lot of times, we end up searching areas that are nowhere near the correct location."

However, with the help of two new pieces of water-bound technology acquired earlier this month - a bottom-scanning sonar system and a robotic submarine, or remotely operated vehicle - Pedersen said his volunteer teams will be better equipped to stave-off ultimate tragedy for grieving families and help investigators figure out what happened.

"These items are both completely new for us," he said. "With the sonar, we'll be able to easily determine if we're in the right area. (With the ROV), we'll be able to reduce diving time and there's a potential to retrieve whatever object we're looking at without having to send a diver down at all."

The side-scanning sonar is towed behind the rescue boat and looks like a small yellow torpedo. Built by Marine Sonic Technology, Ltd. it can search a 400-yard wide section of lakebed with a single pass. By selling a number of outdated pieces of equipment and with donations from local charities, the sheriff's office was able to purchase the $40,000 system without spending any taxpayer money.

The 23-pound ROV - one of the lighter models built by San Diego-based Seabotix Inc. - is equipped with a pair of video cameras and a grappling arm. Though its 500-foot dive capability will be more than adequate for the region's smaller lakes, its operations in Lake Tahoe will be limited to the shoreline, as the lake's average depth exceeds 800 feet. Due to the altitude, scuba divers cannot dive more than 100 feet down in Tahoe.

Complete with upgrades, warranties and training, the ROV had a price tag of $32,000, paid entirely through a grant from the federal Department of Homeland Security.

Capt. Steven Kelly of the sheriff's Incline Village Substation said the sonar and ROV will mostly be used by Pederson and his teams, but anticipated that his deputies will find uses for them.

"There are occasions when we could use them in the course of an investigation," Kelly said. "For instance, if someone dropped a safe into the lake again - and that happens - they could be very useful."

Pederson also said that he hopes other law enforcement agencies in the region will take advantage of the new equipment. According to Lt. Randy Fenn of the Truckee Police Department, his office had to borrow an ROV from a San Francisco organization when an ice-skater fell through the ice and drowned in Donner Lake this January.

"Having a similar ROV in the region would certainly be beneficial and could allow us to provide a more timely response," he said.

- See article "Boat handlers becoming local unit" for more information.



Staff writer Tom Meyer can be reached at (775) 831-4666 or at tmeyer@tahoebonanza.com.