MATT SCHARPER | INSTRUCTOR
Professional Service Since 1978 (Retired) | CMC Since 2013
Matt has over 40 years in Wilderness SAR (Law Enforcement) and Technical Wilderness Rescue (Law Enforcement) in all wilderness environments (Summer, Winter, Water, Snot and Ice). This includes 33 years as a Law Enforcement Officer/Coroner Investigator/Coordinator. He got his start at a high school program through the local Sheriff’s Office for Wilderness Search and Rescue. It was designed to give the community’s youth an insight in to emergency services. Matt signed up as a high school freshman in 1977, and he never looked back – he’s been in Wilderness SAR ever since. He started as a SAR Volunteer, later became a full time Deputy Sherriff and was the County Sherriff’s SAR Coordinator for Mariposa County, then moved on to the State as the California State SAR Coordinator for CalOES, representing all 58 California Counties. Now in retirement, Matt teaches what he has learned throughout his career.
Agencies that Matt served include 7 years as a Volunteer SAR member and Reserve Deputy Sheriff at Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office, 13 years full time as a Sergeant and the County SAR Coordinator and Coroner Investigator; 20 years at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) as a Deputy Chief in the Law Enforcement Branch as the Special Operations Deputy Chief and the California State Search and Rescue Coordinator (Wilderness SAR), and Statewide Coroners Mutual Aid Coordinator).
In his retirement, Matt is a CMC School Instructor for our Rope Rescue Technician I/II and contract specialty rope courses dealing with Wilderness SAR and Industrial work access. He also teaches Search and Rescue Management for CalOES multiple times each year throughout the state, and contracts with Kenyon International from Houston, Texas and the U.K. to conduct mass fatality recovery operations worldwide. Matt also does Rescue Prop Engineering, Building, and Welding, as well as Reop Rescue and Industrial Reop Work Access instruction for Pro Safety. In his spare time, he is a volunteer instructor on Wilderness SAR teams rope rescue techniques and tactics.
Matt’s qualifications include: Expert in Wilderness SAR, Wilderness SAR Management, and Wilderness Rescue and Recovery as a SAR Coordinator (Local Government and Statewide). He also has a background in Coroner duties and investigations to include recovery of decedents in the wilderness environments.
When asked what he likes most about being a CMC School Instructor, Matt responded: “Teaching new and your rescuers and workers the art of rope work – safely and efficiently. What works and does not work…”
