There when you need them

MSAR volunteers to the rescue



RECOVERY MISSION—A team from Malibu Search and Rescue works the scene of a fatal accident Aug. 22 on Kanan Road in Malibu Canyon. Read about the incident on Page 10. Courtesy of Malibu Search and Rescue

RECOVERY MISSION—A team from Malibu Search and Rescue works the scene of a fatal accident Aug. 22 on Kanan Road in Malibu Canyon. Read about the incident on Page 10. Courtesy of Malibu Search and Rescue

People who work in a high-risk job—soldiers, firefighters, police—will often say they do it because it’s work that has to be done, not because they want recognition or medals. But sometimes they get them anyway.

Members of the Malibu Search and Rescue team, an all-volunteer organization, recently won eight awards at the Reserve Peace Officers Conference in Sacramento, which is hosted annually by the California Reserve Peace Officers Association.

Thad Woodward, a search-and-rescue volunteer for 21 years, was one of three team members to be awarded the Medal of Valor, the highest award the association offers, for rescuing four stranded hikers in 2014. He said he was just doing what needed to be done, but he appreciates the recognition.

“A lot of the stuff we do, no one even knows about it. I’ve had helicopter blades within 10 feet of my legs when I was on the side of a cliff and they were doing a rescue,” Woodward said. “I was looking at the pilot and he was looking at me. I’m thinking, ‘Dude, just don’t sneeze,’ because I would have ended up about 3 feet shorter. You do all this stuff and no one ever really knows, so it’s nice to get an ‘attaboy.’”

IT’S TEAMWORK—The personnel receiving awards are, from left: Dan Farrell, Stephen Marshall, David Katz, Thad Woodward, Mark Stevenson, Jack Garden and Tui Wright. Far right is James Royal, Lost Hills sheriff’s lieutenant. Courtesy of CRPOA

IT’S TEAMWORK—The personnel receiving awards are, from left: Dan Farrell, Stephen Marshall, David Katz, Thad Woodward, Mark Stevenson, Jack Garden and Tui Wright. Far right is James Royal, Lost Hills sheriff’s lieutenant. Courtesy of CRPOA

Woodward, David Katz and Jack Garden received the Medal of Valor for participating in the 2014 rescue operation and will receive the same award from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in October.

The medal is awarded to “persons who distinguish themselves by displaying great courage, above and beyond the call of duty, in the face of an immediate life-threatening peril, and with full knowledge of the risk involved.”

The three men rescued four hikers from Malibu Creek State Park in 2014. The hikers had become stranded on the far side of a rock pool area when a storm raised the water and made the current too strong to cross.

The rescue took over nine hours. The team transported hundreds of pounds of rescue equipment to the site, including ropes, harnesses, swift-water equipment and victim packs, all in the dark. Once the cloud cover broke, the hikers were rescued by Ventura County Sheriff’s Office staff aboard a search-and-rescue helicopter.

After the rescue, Woodward, Katz and Garden were told they would be put up for the Medal of Valor. Woodward said it took four years because the nomination has to be approved by multiple officers, and the process takes time.

This is the second time Katz, a reserve sheriff’s deputy, has received the award. He earned his first in 2004 after he tackled a gunman who was shooting at a lawyer outside the Van Nuys courthouse. Katz was off duty at the time. He said that after the 2014 rescue he knew there was a chance he would win the medal again but didn’t hold his breath for it to happen.

“(The sheriff’s) department gives out usually less than 15 Medals of Valor a year for 10,000 sworn (deputies). So for a reserve to get it is highly unusual, and for a reserve to get it a second time, it means you got struck by lightning twice. Either that or you’re just really stupid and unlucky, which is usually what people consider me to be,” Katz said.

“There’s no greater honor, I think, for a department member to receive something like this and to be recognized. And for a reserve, who’s doing it for free, to risk their lives and then be recognized for it, it’s just that much sweeter.”

Five other members of the Malibu search team were given awards at the Sacramento awards ceremony. Sgt. Tui Wright and Dep. Kevin Augarten received the Reserve Coordinators of the Year award. The two are the liaisons between the team and the Malibu/ Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, and are the primary supervisors for the team.

Stephen Marshall was named the Search and Rescue Volunteer of the Year for various efforts to aid the team and the sheriff’s station. Marshall has overseen fundraising for the team, which is primarily funded by donations, and leads the Malibu/Lost Hills station’s involvement in the Pink Patch Project, an effort to raise awareness of breast cancer.

Dan Farrell received the Distinguished Service Award for his involvement with the team’s technology front. Among other things, Farrell developed a phone app for team members to schedule their patrols, log hours and respond to rescue calls.

Mark Stevenson is a civilian volunteer specialist who received the Distinguished Service Award for providing medical care to a hit-and-run victim until the fire department arrived on the scene.