New Pennington Co. Search and Rescue Sherp vehicle is raring to go

RAPID CITY, S.D. — It can charge at speeds topping 25 mph. The diesel engine can run for 24 hours. It can drive over trees, through water and more. The Sherp Pro truck is one tough machine, and with it, Pennington County Search and Rescue will be able to find people faster, and safer.

“We have been saving up for several years to get new equipment that can handle various terrain,” says volunteer, Shawn Gab. “Snowcats have been at the top of the list but we did research and found this vehicle and realized this can do, not only snow, but also, water, mud, trees, rocks – all the terrain that we have in the hills.”

Members of Search and Rescue have been training with the vehicle for several weeks. Training is still ongoing for the machine with a SACHS clutch system – developed for race tracks.

Anyone that is part of the Search and Rescue team can learn how to drive the nearly 3,000 lb. machine. Though a cool part of the job, the real mission is to rescue and save lives.

“We can do water rescues,” Gab said. “We can do winter rescues when people are stranded in a place that’s dangerous, so their might be lives saved and we would count on that. That’s what we do.”