The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Search and Rescue team is made up of volunteers from the community. Team members provide the manpower, knowledge, and skills to conduct searches for missing people. The Search and Rescue unit of the Sheriff's Department is the largest specialized unit in the Department and is a 100 percent volunteer effort. Activities encompass everything from an overdue hiker to the Alzheimer patient that has walked away from home, and additionally assists law enforcement in searching for evidence hidden or abandoned during the commission of a crime.

The unit also provides emergency medical support at the Oceano State Park sand dunes area for the many off highway vehicle users on holiday weekends. The volunteers respond to medical emergencies within the dunes area to treat and stabilize patients until the arrival of ambulance personnel. Members of the team design and conduct training within the team that meets or exceeds national standards. Many of the volunteers have additional skills such as emergency medical technician training, radio dispatching, technical climbing and search dog handling.