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This page is a framework
Quick reference: requesting a dive team
General planning guidance. The dive team leader decides whether, when and how divers enter the water.
Information the dive team will ask for:
- Point last seen: exactly where the person or vehicle went under, and where each witness was standing when they saw it.
- Time: how long ago it happened.
- Water: depth if known, current, temperature, visibility, and hazards such as ice, debris or boat traffic.
- Subject: a person, a vehicle (make and color) or evidence, and whether anyone may still be inside a vehicle.
What teams bring:
- Divers: search patterns on tethers or lines in low or zero visibility.
- Sonar and ROVs: side-scan sonar and remotely operated vehicles can narrow the search area before divers go in, and reduce diver exposure.
- Search dogs: trained dogs working from boats or the shore can indicate where scent rises from the water.
- Surface rescue: boat and swiftwater crews for people still at the surface; see Swiftwater & Flood Rescue.
Before the team arrives:
- Keep the witnesses: ask them to stay so the team can triangulate the point last seen.
- Mark the spot: mark the point last seen from shore with reference points, and keep boats out of the area.
- No untrained entry: bystanders and responders without dive training should not go into the water.
Mutual aid workflow
Requesting a dive team here
Water scene safety
- Life jackets on. Everyone working at the water's edge or on a boat wears a personal flotation device.
- Control boat traffic. Stop boats and personal watercraft near the dive site.
- Diver safety first. Once the chance of rescue has passed, teams slow down and treat the operation as a recovery to protect divers.
Who pays
- Varies by agency: dive teams are usually paid for by the sheriff, police or fire agency that runs them; volunteer sonar and dog teams typically do not charge.
- Ask before launch whether a mutual aid agreement or cost recovery applies.
County resource density
State agencies and coordination
State water rescue agencies and where a request is opened
Local government air units
Sheriff, police and fire dive teams
Volunteer teams
Sonar, dive and dog teams that work at an agency's request
Federal units
Coast Guard and other federal resources
Nothing matches that search. Clear the filters or try a county name.
Program statistics
Recent deployments
Live news search
Opens a running news query for search and rescue activity in this state.
Open news searchCapability mix
Share of registered assets by discipline.
Governance and statutory authority
State mutual aid guidelines
The typing documents behind a request
These documents set out how dive teams are requested and what divers are qualified to do. Open a card for the summary and a link to the published source.
No state guideline documents are indexed yet for this state.
State statutes
Authority for search and rescue in this state
Federal frameworks
These apply in every state
Becoming a public safety diver
The path for agency and volunteer divers
Capabilities and qualifications
| Capability | What the team does | Who provides it and the standard | Recurrency |
|---|
Training resources
National water rescue references
Field toolkit and admin
Scene control, logs and coordination
Securing the point last seen
What to do before a dive team arrives.
- Hold witnesses; mark where each one stood.
- Keep boats and swimmers out of the area.
Logging and volunteer registration
Records that support after-action review, reimbursement and volunteer coverage:
- Dive log recording each diver, times in and out, depth, the area searched and what was found.
- Unit activity log for after-action reporting and reimbursement.
Who coordinates water searches
Local, state and Coast Guard roles.
- Inland waters: the local agency with jurisdiction.
- Coastal waters and Great Lakes: Coast Guard.