NATCHEZ — The Adams County Search and Rescue Unit is looking to get its motor running and get out on the water.

The unit works under the direction of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and the Adams County Emergency Management director to handle a variety of calls ranging from storm damage assessments to drowning or missing adults and children.

The all-volunteer group, which make themselves available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is also trained to handle detailed evidence searches for the sheriff’s office.

In the early spring the unit was helping the Mississippi Department of Transportation inspect the bridge after a barge struck it at 2 a.m.

During the inspection the motor shut off and took the boat and its passenger on a frantic ride around the pylons, nearly crashing several times.

Treasurer Charles Feltus remembers the night all too well and said he drew some lines in the sand after the incident.

“After that I said ‘I’m not going back out there on this boat,’” Feltus said. “That was one of the scariest moments in my life.”

Feltus said the motor had been giving them trouble for some time, even with constant maintenance from several of the unit’s members.

“We had been putting band aids on that motor for years, and it finally just became unsafe,” Feltus said. “We have a very good boat and it’s served us very well, but we just need some propulsion.”

The boat, which was donated to the unit, is a 17-foot double hull riverboat.

Director Everard Baker said the unit had high hopes of receiving funds through FEMA to pay for the motor.

“We were under a disaster declaration and there was a possibility we could have gotten money,” Baker said. “But they said it was too old, and it would have broken anyway.”

After being notified they would not be receiving funds from FEMA, Baker and the unit began a fundraising campaign to purchase a new motor.

The unit has sent more than 150 letters to citizens across the Miss-Lou and has received a total of $500.

Feltus said he was gracious to receive that money from the community, but that it falls far short of the new $9,000 motor.

“We know during this time of year it’s tough to get donations, but we thought it would be the best time to send them out,” Feltus said.

Emergency Management Director Stan Owens said the unit has come a long way since its creation nearly six years ago and the unit plays a large role in disaster or emergency situations.

“They are basically my eyes and ears on the ground,” Owens said. “They’re indispensable.”

The unit is the only volunteer group to own and operate its own rescue boat from Port Gibson to St. Francisville, La.

With such a large area to cover for a volunteer group, Baker said the need for the unit to purchase a new motor is imperative.

“We’re just going to be there and there’s not anyone else that’s available to do what we do,” Baker said. “That’s how we operate, we can put a crew on the ground or in the water to do whatever we need to do.”

To participate in the fundraising efforts, checks can be made out to the Adams County Search and Rescue Unit and sent to P.O. Box 805 Natchez, MS 39121.