NCPA Dive Recovery & K9 Search Team

06/13/2026

Today 6 team members took to the golf course, not to golf but to dive for some golf balls! We recovered 1675 in a matter of 2 hours with 4 divers. We turn this dive into a training. The conditions of the pond are exactly what we experience in a real world searches.

06/07/2026

Yesterday's training took place at Willow bay, where 7 team members and 2 K9's worked with HRD in water, side scan sonar and locating our dummy with the new ROV. Changing wind and weather conditions and choppy water made things tricky. But we were able to positively ID the "victim" with the dogs and then ran both boats over the location to get sonar picture, then we deployed the ROV to get confirmation. After training we all enjoyed a parking lot cookout to end the training. If you're interested in learning more about the team or joining reach out via facebook or email [email protected]

05/25/2026

A short video from today's training of K9 handler Ruth Mayes and K9 Oliver.

05/25/2026

Today's training was conducted at Sugar Bay. We had 7 members, 1 Junior member and 2 K9's for hurricane anchor, in water HRD, and ROV training.

All members got to try out our new Deep Trekker ROV and it performed great and was extremely easy to deploy!

Both K9's performed great in their tasks on marking and locating the scent even with changing wind patterns and very limited scent articles in the water.

To end the day we enjoyed a nice cookout and debriefing. Its all about team building, enjoying each other's company and comradery.

If interested in learning more about the team or joining reach out to discuss.

05/09/2026

Today, a five-member team joined forces with the US Forest Service, Army Corps, and roughly 30 volunteers for the 22nd Allegheny Reservoir clean-up, utilizing our boats to traverse debris-filled areas and collect tires, 55-gallon drums, and other discarded materials.

04/16/2026

Our team has received the newest addition to our ROV fleet, a quick-deploy model from Deep Trekker. This ROV is set to be a valuable asset. With this extra unit, multiple locations can be covered at the same time.

04/14/2026

Our memners Roderic Johnson and Ruth Mayes over the weekend shared their extensive K9 knowledge with surrounding teams. Proud to have this great duo on our team! They never stop working or training.

03/11/2026

Congratulations to our own Roderic Johnson for 50 years of firefighting service. Not only is he one of our K9 handlers, divers, and tenders he is also very active in his local fire department and SAR team. Rod wears many hats and is a huge assist to our team and mainly others that he is involved with.

Lifetime Firefighter Rod Johnson Honored

Congratulations and thank you to volunteer firefighter Rod Johnson who was recognized for 50 years of service to the community at the Star Hose Company #1 annual banquet in Port Allegany. I was honored to present him with a congratulatory citation from the PA House of Representatives. Thank you for your service and dedication to the community Rod!

https://www.j2press.net/post/lifetime-firefighter-rod-johnson-honored

02/24/2026

This past Sunday, 2/22/2026 the team traveled to Kane Highschool for training. Training consisted of many things with primary focus on searching for evidence articles and downed diver rescues. From blacked out searches to simulate black water / contaminated environments. To rescuing and extricating unconscious divers and preforming medical interventions. The team was very fortunate to have “buddy phones” provided to us by Delightful Divers for underwater diver to diver communications . Additionally 2 probationary members had the opportunity to “get their feet wet”. Literally, with SCUBA Diving in confined water. We would like to extend a huge thank you to Kane Area School District for the use of the facility. And to the lifeguard willing to donate not only her time, but knowledge as well.

01/19/2026

Today's training consisted of the "what if's". What if you ran out of air? What if your mask malfunctioned? What if you got entangled? What if the primary diver was unconscious?

Our divers handled the "What if's" with a slow and steady response. Divers had black out masks on and in full gear including dry gloves, which limits dexterity and feeling in the hands. Our next training is February 22nd in Kane. If you have any interest or questions please feel free reach out.