New Jersey Search and Rescue

05/15/2026

Congratulations to Matthew and Justin for being the latest two candidates to graduate and become full team members! NJSAR President Avigayl had the honor of patching our newest guys at this month's meeting. Welcome aboard.

05/12/2026

April's drill brought NJSAR members and candidates back to Ramapo Mountain. The fun difference this month is our candidates went through their Mission Ready Candidate final exam day on Saturday. After months of drills and certifications, our twice annual MRC weekend is their chance to graduate from candidacy and become a full team member.

After taking multiple field exams and spending the night in their own shelters, they joined the rest of the team on Sunday for an extensive mock search through the reservation. Everyone handled the curve balls thrown their way and were able to adapt and overcome unexpected challenges. As expected, a very long and very arduous carryout finished the day.

Acts of service to others feeds the soul. www.njsar.org

04/14/2026

Stop by our table to learn more about the team, equipment used, and ways to support our mission.

🌎 SAT, APR 18, 11am-3pm: Join us for our free 9th Annual Earth Day Celebration! We’ll have nature crafts, activities, games, and a volunteer cleanup going on throughout the event - plus some special programs scheduled at the times below. This is a FREE event and no registration is needed. Just stop by!

For full details, visit our website at www.highlandsnaturefriends.org.

03/24/2026

NJSAR members and family proudly marched in Ringwood’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in honor of our Deputy Chief Scott Fitterman, who has been named Ringwood’s Outstanding Citizen!

It was an honor to participate in the parade and celebrate Scott for his valuable volunteer work in the town!
☘️☘️☘️

03/21/2026

Our March drill had members and candidates working grid searches through the woods at New Weis Center, both in day and night to get reps in the dark doing hard things.

As you can see, love letters can come in many forms... to include hidden cups for searchers to find and spell out their affection for one of the planners. Awwww ❤️

03/18/2026

NJSAR members joined other teams last month for intensive Managing The Lost Person Incident (MLPI) course. This week-long training helps teams plan effectively for searches for better outcomes.

Also in attendance with NJSAR: Alpha K9 Search and Recovery; Berkley Township Underwater Search and Rescue; Bloomingdale Search and Rescue; NJ Rescue & Recovery K9 Unit; SAR Teams of Warren County; Sussex County OEM; West Milford Search and Rescue.

Thank you to NJ Forest Fire Service for hosting the class!

02/15/2026

Weak gear.
Poor planning.
Inadequate physical conditioning.
Ignoring changing weather.

Hikers and outdoor enthusiasts get lost, injured, and worse every week in the great outdoors. SAR teams often find the incident could've been avoided with better decision-making before and during the hike. The difference in proper education and planning can literally be life and death.

Talk to experienced hikers about proper gear for the conditions. Find a local hiking group and join. Use a good hiking phone app. Learn how to read a map. Speak with folks at our good outdoor stores in NJ about clothing and fitness requirements. Don't underestimate the weather. Take advantage of the great information out there to make your day in the woods a safe one.

We hope we never have to meet in the woods.

Be safe and have fun in the great NJ outdoors!

www.njsar.org



To donate to NJSAR, text NJSAR to 53555

02/09/2026

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BAD WEATHER, ONLY UNPREPARED PEOPLE

It was cold for today's drill.
We did land navigation.
We love New York New Jersey Trail Conference for letting us use their facilities in the morning to prep.
It was cold.
We train like we operate.

01/22/2026

NJSAR's first drill in 2026 was a multi-person mock search on Ramapo Mountain, and included our partners from Bloomingdale SAR and NJ Civil Air Patrol. Teams were tasked to find 'missing hikers' which required intelligence gathering, hasty searches, and hours-long medical carryout by all the teams to get the injured hiker to safety.

NJSAR members help make New Jersey’s beautiful forests and trails safer by maintaining wilderness medical training, field search skills, and physical fitness requirements. If you’re looking for meaningful ways to help your community and learn lots of things while you do it, search us. www.njsar.org

***To donate to our new vehicle fundraiser***

https://givebutter.com/c/NJSARvehicle

To donate to NJSAR, text NJSAR to 53555

01/05/2026

NJSAR led its 5th annual First Hike on Jan 1!! John R. and other NJSAR volunteers led a big group of hikers through snowy conditions at High Point State Park. Thank you to everyone that joined us to kick off 2026, and our deepest appreciation to hikers that donated to the organization!

www.njsar.org

***To donate to our new vehicle fundraiser***

https://givebutter.com/c/NJSARvehicle

To donate to NJSAR, text NJSAR to 53555

01/04/2026

Some faces of NJSAR from the past year that remind us why we volunteer.
Happy 2026 and be safe outdoors!