by Sentinel Staff

The all-volunteer public response dive team for Custer County began back in March of 2011, when Charles Cox and Bill Mazurek, both volunteers in the Custer County Sheriff’s Office Posse, got together and started a dive team for search, rescue and recovery purposes in water locations such as lakes, rivers, and ponds. The public response team is an asset to the County because a response dive team from Pueblo or Co Springs can take 24 hours or more to arrive on scene due to shift coverage. In contrast, Custer County’s Volunteer Dive Team is able to respond at a moment’s notice.

The team has changed up members over the years as people move, retire, or are faced with physical challenges that limit their ability to dive. Today the team has four members, Bill Mazurek (Posse member), Charles Cox (recently retired Code Enforcement Officer and member of the Posse), Captain Rich Smith of the Colorado State Patrol, and Christopher Bryson (a Posse member and cartographer for the team), divers all. Trained in many places around the globe, this team has world class experience and, as individuals, have made multiple dives internationally.
Training is a critical part of the activities of this team. They have, for example, trained in Lake Pueblo with the Pueblo Fire Department and Division of Wildlife in Pueblo, which has a boat but no dive team.

Locally their training sites are mainly, though not exclusively, in Lakes DeWeese and San Isabel and they have regular training sessions to keep up their skills. This year they trained in the very full Lake DeWeese in July along with members of the WMFPD and plan to train again before cold weather hits.
In past years the team has trained with the local Fire Department (WMFPD) and has ramped up training by including the Department of Wildlife (DOW). In upcoming training SO plans to work with EMS and the Coroner’s office.

Sheriff Shannon Byerly has reached out to other counties and offered the services of his dive team in the spirit of inter county cooperation. The team has recovered many items and evidence for cases in Custer County. They are an asset to DOW as well. The team has responded in Fremont County and through the SO, has offered help to Huerfano County’s EMS Manager, Larry Sanders, offering to respond to Huerfano County needs.
Each one of the team members are volunteers, and as such, they fund their own equipment, and much of the training, travel and other expenses associated with diving. The equipment each dive team member uses is personally owned and requires constant care and maintenance. Each diver uses their own diving equipment which at minimum costs about $300 a year in upkeep. Certifications entail costs as well.

The dive team has been fortunate to receive donations from the Colorado Springs Fire Department as they upgrade their older equipment. Donations come from as far away as Georgia and Texas. Concerned citizens have also made contributions in equipment. In fact, the team welcomes any donation that may come their way. Last year a donation was made to make it possible for the purchase of a state-of-the-art sonar which can “see” almost everything underwater down to the smallest detail. It fit perfectly in their “newly upgraded” 1970s fiberglass fourteen-foot boat that was donated to them. The team also has an inflatable boat with a small motor. While these may sound like small vessels, the boat and inflatable are the right size for easier portability and high maneuverability in confined areas were there may be rocks, vegetation, and other surface and underwater obstacles.

The team is hoping to find another boat that is slightly larger in size as well as additional equipment such as search lights and a light bar, and desperately need to update safety gear that would be used on the larger bodies of water like Lake DeWeese and San Isabel. In a recent interview with Charles Cox, he indicated that the team’s equipment is aging. It is paramount that equipment be updated soon for safety reasons.

If you would be interested in helping our dive team by making a fully tax-deductible donation, you would be making a huge difference to the first responder capabilities for any water emergency in our county, and beyond its borders.
These are truly remarkable public servants who deserve the unending gratitude of the community for their unselfish commitment .

The team now has its own GoFundMe page at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/dive-team-support.

The Posse is always looking for volunteers to join the dive team. Anyone interested in this exciting community service should know that the qualifications are simple; an Open Water Certification and the joy to train in ice cold water. Please contact Charles Cox at ccox@custercountygov.com or sharps45Kid@yahoo.com or call 719-783-4303 or call the Sheriff’s Office at (719) 783-2270 for more information. Let’s Dive!