Cadet 1st Lt. Luz Sandoval, left, and Cadet Airman First Class Devin Linehan, right, on duty in the comm room at the Douglas County Composite Squadron in Minden.
By Capt. Fred Lasor Commander, Douglas County Composite Squadron, CAP
Monday, June 21, 2021
Cadet 1st Lt. Luz Sandoval, a Mission Radio Operator and trainer, and Cadet Airman 1st Class Devin Linehan were an important part of an aerial search for a missing man south of Hawthorne, on June 12.
The cadets are members of the Carson City Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol and had been assigned as Mission Radio Operator and trainee for a SAREX (search and rescue exercise) at the Douglas County Composite Squadron in Minden.
Cadet Sandoval has been active in CAP for two and a half years, frequently operating the communications radio for the Minden squadron. Saturday was planned to be a routine exercise — an opportunity for staff at the mission base to practice using the communications radios, and for Sandoval to train Linehan.
At the same time as the SAREX, an actual search was underway.
A man was overdue by three days when his wife called the Mineral County sheriff to report that he had not returned and was not prepared to stay out in the desert overnight. The sheriff requested air support from CAP, and a CAP search plane was launched from Reno. But the aircraft was unable to communicate with its home base, so Sandoval and Linehan relayed radio transmissions between the aircraft and Reno base.
The Reno aircraft spotted a white van and descended to see if there was anyone with the truck. When the occupant stepped out and waved, the aircraft crew knew they needed to contact the sheriff. Meanwhile, the aircraft continued to circle above the lost individual to reassure him that they were contacting the authorities. The air crew relayed geographic coordinates of the missing person through Sandoval and Linehan to Reno base.
Fifteen minutes later the ground team arrived and confirmed this was indeed the missing person and he was in good physical condition.
Sandoval and Linehan, along with the aircrew, will receive a ribbon to testify that they were part of a team that found and saved a missing person.
Celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2021, Civil Air Patrol is congressionally chartered and operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. CAP performs services for the federal government as the official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and for states and local communities. CAP is a strategic member of the Total Force, consisting of the Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and Air Force auxiliary. CAP performs three primary missions — Cadet Programs, Aerospace Education and Emergency Services.
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