King County Explorer Search and Rescue

What King County Explorer Search and Rescue does

King County Explorer Search and Rescue (KCESAR), also known as ESAR, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit volunteer organization founded in 1954 in King County, Washington, and recognized as the largest of nine member-units in the King County Search and Rescue Association. It operates as the primary ground search and rescue resource for the county under the official purview of the King County Sheriff's Office and the Washington State Department of Emergency Management, with missions activated through 911 dispatch by the Sheriff's Office SAR Coordinator. KCESAR responds to over 150 emergency missions annually, conducted by 250+ active volunteers (including youth members aged 14+) who collectively log more than 18,000 training hours per year and participate in a 170+ hour Basic Training program.

Name

King County Explorer Search and Rescue

Legal name

King County Explorer Search & Rescue

Website

https://kcesar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

King County Explorer Search and Rescue (KCESAR) is a 501(c)(3) volunteer nonprofit, founded in 1954, that serves as the primary ground search and rescue resource for King County, Washington, under the King County Sheriff's Office.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

North Bend

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: KCESAR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is 100% volunteer and 100% donation funded. Funding comes from generous donations by local businesses, the communities they serve, volunteers, and individuals. Donations support training, operations, and critical life-saving equipment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

King County Explorer Search and Rescue (KCESAR/ESAR) provides emergency ground search and rescue services throughout King County, Washington, operating under the purview of the King County Sheriff's Office and Washington State Department of Emergency Management. The organization trains volunteer members through a 170+ hour basic training program covering wilderness navigation, survival skills, search method theory, first aid, and evidence search procedures, and responds to over 150 emergency missions annually. As the largest of nine member-units of the King County Search & Rescue Association and one of the earliest organized SAR organizations in the United States (founded 1954), KCESAR operates as a 100% volunteer, 100% donation-funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Product overview

King County Explorer Search & Rescue offers search and rescue services and associated training programs. The core offering is emergency ground SAR operations for King County, supplemented by a comprehensive Basic Training program (~170 hours) covering wilderness navigation, survival skills, search methods, and first aid. Additional offerings include a quarterly newsletter ("The Dispatch") and supplemental mapwork educational resources for trainees. The organization operates as a 100% volunteer, donation-funded non-profit under the King County Sheriff's Office.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Search and Rescue Operations

Quantifiable outcome

• 125+ emergency responses per year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• King County Search & Rescue Association (KCSARA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1954KCESAR is the largest of nine member-units in the King County Search & Rescue Association, coordinating search and rescue operations across King County.
• Boy Scouts of AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1954The 'Explorer' in Explorer Search & Rescue comes from ESAR's historical affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America Learning for Life program. ESAR was the first program in the country to accept youth members. ESAR still maintains a Post with the BSA but is not as directly associated with Scouting as it once was.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bellingham Mountain Rescue: Volunteer SAR unit serving the North Cascades and Whatcom County in Washington; directly comparable in volunteer structure, mission scope, and partnership with county sheriff's office.
• Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR): NPS-managed wilderness SAR team in Yosemite National Park; comparable in high-volume wilderness rescue operations, technical terrain, and year-round deployment readiness.
• Olympic Mountain Rescue: Volunteer wilderness SAR unit covering the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state; comparable operating model, technical rescue capabilities, and Pacific Northwest outdoor terrain focus.
• Seattle Mountain Rescue: Volunteer wilderness SAR unit operating in King County and the greater Puget Sound region; directly comparable in mission type, volunteer-based operating model, and technical rescue scope to KCESAR.
• Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue: County-level volunteer ground SAR organization in neighboring Snohomish County, WA; comparable in governance structure, training pipeline, and relationship with county sheriff's office.

Broad incumbents

• Civil Air Patrol: Federally chartered volunteer civilian aviation organization that conducts inland search and rescue missions across the US; comparable in volunteer-driven emergency response model and federal/state coordination, but operates at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
• American Red Cross: Large national humanitarian organization delivering disaster response and emergency relief; comparable as a 501(c)(3) donation-funded emergency response provider, but operating at much broader scope and scale than KCESAR's ground SAR focus.

Others

• National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR): National nonprofit membership organization that supports SAR practitioners through training standards, certification, and advocacy; KCESAR's training and operational practices sit within the framework this organization develops.
• Mountain Rescue Association: National membership and accreditation body for volunteer SAR units across the US; KCESAR would be affiliated with this organization as the institutional hub for volunteer mountain SAR.

Regional players

• Mount Hood Search and Rescue: Volunteer SAR unit operating in Oregon under the Hood River County Sheriff's Office; comparable in mission type and volunteer-based operating model, but serving a different state geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kingcountyesar
• Instagraminstagram.com/kingcounty_esar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about King County Explorer Search and Rescue