THE DIVE TEAM
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team is tasked with the recovery of drowning victims from the waterways within the geographical constraints of Nevada County. Some of those major waterways include Rollins Reservoir, Scott’s Flat Lake, Englebright Lake, Prosser and Boca Reservoirs and the Yuba and Bear Rivers.
The Dive Team is comprised of three sworn deputy sheriff’s from the department, as well as four civilian members of the Sheriff’s Search & Rescue Team. The team is supervised by a Sergeant from the Sheriff’s Office and assisted by a civilian assistant team leader from Search and Rescue. The Dive Team conducts trainings on a monthly basis, with an emphasis on rehearsing skills that involve underwater search and recovery techniques. The team has a variety of equipment to include traditional SCUBA gear, full-face dive masks with underwater communications equipment, as well as underwater lighting and camera systems.

The Dive Team also practices skills necessary for swift water rescue and works with and trains with the Nevada County Consolidated Fire Dept. in this capacity. The team owns and trains with a Seabotix brand underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), outfitted with color and black and white cameras that can be monitored live top side, a digital underwater compass, a sonar system and an articulating claw capable of grabbing hold of objects for deep water retrieval.

The Dive Team works closely with the Sheriff’s Marine Patrol Unit, utilizing its many patrol boats to further the mission of the team. These boats consist of aluminum hull jet boats, as well as a 12 foot Achilles brand rigid hull inflatable raft powered with a 20 horsepower Honda outboard. In 2016 the Marine Patrol Unit acquired a downward looking sonar unit that’s mounted to its largest jet boat, which assists the Dive Team in locating objects submerged in deeper water. ​

WHAT IT TAKES...
Civilians wanting to become involved with the Dive Team must first apply to become members of the Sheriff’s Search & Rescue Team. Once one completes the SAR academy and is deemed mission ready they must also possess, at a minimum, a basic open water SCUBA certification from an accredited diver certification organization (e.g. PADI, NAUI, SSI, etc.) . The SAR member can then request to become a member of the Dive Team, which will require them to show dive proficiency and a certain level of physical ability. An interview with team leadership and a review of past diving records will also be conducted prior to being considered for a spot on the team.