Perry County volunteer search and rescue group gets first training

Members of the Perry County Volunteer Search and Rescue Group spent the weekend at the County Armory Annex in their first formal training session, working on land navigation, common lost-person behavior and compass use. The new civilian team is meant to give Perry County a trained ground-search option when a missing-person call starts small but quickly spreads across woods, roads, creeks and fields.

Founders Tracy Jarboe and Arleela Connor said the idea grew out of a real scare involving a friend who became separated from family in the woods. That experience pushed them to organize a group that could help law enforcement and emergency personnel when someone goes missing, especially in a county where the first hours of a search can decide how far a call spreads and how many people are needed.

Perry County’s geography explains why the need is so immediate. The county had an estimated 19,389 residents on July 1, 2025, and it includes more than 60,000 acres of Hoosier National Forest, with the Ohio River along the southern border. The county seat is Tell City, and much of the county remains rural ground where a simple welfare check can turn into a wide search in rough terrain.

In May 2023, the Perry County Sheriff’s Office received a call about two missing juveniles near a home on Orchid Rd. in St. Croix, and the response brought in multiple law enforcement agencies, volunteer firefighters, K-9 units and an Indiana State Police helicopter. Both children were found safely in heavily wooded areas.