Kootenai County, ID: In July of 2020, there was a tragic accident involving two planes over Lake Coeur d’Alene. As a result of this collision, 8 people died. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Dive Rescue Team was one of the teams asked to assist in the recovery efforts of the victims of that crash. This is just one of the many calls and recoveries the dive team has been part over the years.
Since that July event the Dive Team was approached by some citizens who wanted to help the team with equipment needs. Scott Anderson, President of Mountain West Bank and the Board, who are long-time community supporters, has generously donated vital new equipment to the Kootenai County Dive Rescue Team. Included in the gear purchased were 9 Waterproof DX-7 Dry Suits, 8 Tusa 790 Regulators, 14 Oceanic Pro Plus 4 Dive Computers, and 4 Zeagle 911 BC’s. In addition to Scott Anderson and the Board at Mountain West Bank, Jim and Colleen Denning of Hayden Idaho, who are also great supporters of KCSO, donated 9 OTS Wireless Communication systems. Their donations made it much safer for the team to perform life-saving duties. The older outdated equipment the team has been using made their already dangerous job that much more dangerous. This new equipment helps to protect the divers while they perform their rescue and recovery operations.
A big thank you for their outstanding community support. We would also like to thank Jake’s Diving for supplying the above equipment and assisting the team in their training needs over the past couple of years.
Sheriff Ben Wolfinger
By: Lt. Ryan Higgins
