BOUNTIFUL — This winter has been extremely busy for a local search squad. By the first of March the team had already scoured the state for at least seven lost snowmobilers and one lost child.
"I know for a fact this year we've saved a couple of lives through the searches," said Charles Evans of Bountiful.
But the dedicated rescuers are doing more than saving lives. They are upholding a 60-year tradition deeply rooted in the Bountiful community and in many of the members' lives.
"We've been around forever," Evans said.
The committed crew of local residents is formally called the Bountiful City Jeep Posse. Evans serves as commander of the Posse, which was created in 1946 by a group of men who dreamed of helping people.
During a Lions Club meeting in March 1946, Bountiful resident Merk Christensen realized that jeeps developed during World War II could serve a purpose in civilian life. The city was going to get a few of the jeeps, so Christensen decided to form an organization.
He, along with six others, founded what is believed to be the world's first jeep posse, which has helped voluntarily in search and rescue endeavors for the past six decades.
"They seen the need for a search and rescue and started an organization and started doing it," Evans said.
Within three months, the Posse grew to 25 members, all owning their jeeps. In 1947 all of the member's jeeps were painted a uniform bright red with a yellow shield and the words "Official Bountiful City Jeep Posse" affixed to the side of the jeeps.
"There's four or five members that have original jeeps, (and) they bring them out during parades," said Kirk Menlove of Bountiful who has been in the Posse since 1984.
But for practical reasons, many of the members now own trucks, Menlove added. Today, it is suggested that each member of the Posse own a four-wheel drive vehicle, but it doesn't have to be red. However, in order to have the official Jeep Posse emblem placed on its side, the vehicle must be red and approved by the members.
But to many of its members, the Posse is more than just a search and rescue group that drives red vehicles.
Ron Warren of Woods Cross, who has been a member since 1972, said the group is a big family.
"I had a lot of friends that was in it and that's why I started," said Warren, the Posse's secretary.
For Mike Eggett of Bountiful, the Posse's first captain, the group is literally a family affair.
"I grew up around it," he said. "That's all I ever knew."
A dozen of Eggett's family members are part of the Posse today, including his father and brother.
"I joined in 1980, when I turned 21, and my oldest boy is showing interest and he's probably going to join when he turns 21 later this year so there will be 13 (family members in the group)," Eggett said.
But Eggett isn't the only member of the Posse with family ties. He said several of the group's members grew up around the Posse.
Three members of Menlove's family, his two sons and his nephew, joined the posse during the past six months.
"They grew up around the Posse and seeing the activities we do, and they are interested in the search and rescues," Menlove said.
Eggett said the Posse is also like a brotherhood. Whenever a member is in need, any of the other members will help him, he added. "It's kind of a tight-knit group."
To join the group, someone must be 21 years old and must be sponsored, or endorsed, by two existing Posse members. After being endorsed, the person has to be voted in by a majority of the other members. If voted in, they must pay dues and then they are put on probation for one year.
Today there are 57 members, mostly from Bountiful.
Before a Posse member can use an ATV when searching on the mountain they must be off-highway vehicle-, CPR- and first-aid certified. Also, each member must have a backpack filled with supplies including a radio, 24 hours worth of food, a compass and/or GPS.
During a search and rescue operation, the Posse works side by side with the Davis County Sheriff's Department. When the department gets a rescue call, they page the officers of the Posse who then text message the other members on their cell phones.
"We work hand-in-hand with Davis County," Evans said. "We have a good working relationship with them guys. We've got our specialties and they've got their specialties."
Evans said the Posse's specialty is searching in the winter. But the group helps search year round. It was on the scene last summer when Bountiful resident Brennan Hawkins was lost in the High Uintahs.
Eggett said when a call comes in for a missing child he puts himself in the child's parent's shoes.
"If you were that parent, what would you want?," he said he asks himself. "You'd want everyone in the world looking for that kid."
There's nothing better than bringing a child back to his or her parent, he added.
Menlove agrees. He said that the satisfaction and rewarding feeling he gets when bringing someone off the mountain and reuniting them with their family is why he devotes so much time to the volunteer organization.
Most of the emergency situations the group goes out on are search and rescue operations. Evans said many of the veteran Posse members know the foothills above Bountiful so well that they can find people based on local landmarks.
"We've had people describe where they are at and members who have been around forever, they know where to find them," Evans said.
The team often searches above the city but has also been called out to help statewide.
On top of providing search and rescue service, the posse also helps with parking, crowd and traffic control for community events. The group also teaches hunter safety classes.
Evans said the members have volunteered thousands of hours over the years teaching hunters safety.
Each member of the Posse also takes part in regular training classes on topics like GPS, CPR and first aid.
The group also goes on several trips and has different activities throughout the year.
"People really ask, 'What makes the Jeep Posse click?' It's more like a big brotherhood — we're all friends and we just like to get out and do stuff," Evans said.
But the group is definitely service-oriented.
In 2005 they went on 17 searches for a total of 1,030 volunteer hours.
"You don't see a lot of people do things for people for free anymore, (and) it makes me feel good if I can go up there are bring someone off the mountain," Eggett said. "It's just a good feeling to go out and be able to help somebody."
E-mail: nclemens@desnews.com