Wilderness Warriors
Women leaders are an integral part of El Dorado County Sheriff ’ s volunteer Search and Rescue Unit
STORY AND PHOTOS BY Steve Martarano
Katie Thorne , who heads up the volunteer mounted unit , with the two horses she houses at her ranch in Rescue – Samson , 20 , a mustang she leases to another team member , and Stanley , 15 , a saddled pink Percheron show draft horse Thorne has used in rescues for 11 years .
Lifelong Rescue resident Katie Thorne puts in 40 hours a week as a physical therapist in Cameron Park . Marijke Ellert is self-employed and keeps busy as an equine farrier , while Tess Hendricks has worked for almost 20 years as a laboratory scientist at Folsom Lake College .
But they will all put their day jobs on hold at a moment ’ s notice to join the El Dorado County Sheriff ’ s volunteer Search and Rescue Unit . The three are among the 47 women who went through a rigorous training process to be part of the unit ’ s 167-volunteer group , agreeing to quickly respond to incidents , says Jared Melton , who runs the department ’ s Office of Emergency Services .
34 comstocksmag . com | March 2022