Search and Rescue Software for Modern SAR Teams

Most search and rescue organizations run a callout on a mix of radio, a paper map, a WhatsApp group and a spreadsheet someone updates the week after. Each tool works on its own. Together they leave the coordinator rebuilding the picture in their head, and the after-action report rebuilt from memory. Redoto Rescue is search and rescue software that puts that picture in one place: the mission, the people in the field, the ground they have covered and the resources behind them.

01One platform for your entire SAR operation

Redoto Rescue is not a tracking app with a roster bolted on, and not a workforce tool with a map bolted on. It is one system with one database, so a mission knows which rescuers were on it, which team searched which sector, which equipment left the warehouse for it and what was written in the log at 03:14.

• Operations dashboard. Live map, weather, active-mission progress, alerts and readiness at a glance.
• Mission command. The full lifecycle from callout to after-action report. See mission management.
• Live map and GPS tracking. Team positions and recorded tracks on topographic and satellite layers. See live GPS tracking.
• Search sectors. Polygons, team assignment and coverage per sector. See search sectors.
• Personnel and teams. Profiles, certifications, region roles and tactical teams with leaders.
• Equipment, stock and fleet. Warehouse, consumables, loans, vehicles and maintenance. See equipment management.
• Documents, communications and audit. Protocols and certificates, a channel per mission, broadcast alerts and a complete audit trail.

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The capabilities overview lists all eighteen modules, and the product tour walks through every web screen.

02Real-time SAR team tracking

SAR GPS tracking in Redoto Rescue starts in the field app. A rescuer goes on duty with one tap, on foot or in a vehicle, and appears on the coordinator’s live SAR map in the web command center. The map shows field team locations together with search sectors, mission bases, located persons and last-seen points with their search radii, on topographic or satellite layers.

• Rescue team tracking, not just dots. In the mission workspace each assigned team is listed with its live position and phone battery.
• Tracks that persist. What a team walked is recorded against the mission, so coverage is something you can check.
• GPX import. Bring in a planned route, the missing person’s intended itinerary or a handheld GPS track.
• On-duty only. Location is shared with permission and only during an active mission. The location disclosure states exactly what is collected.

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03Search sector management

Search sector planning is where a search becomes systematic. Draw sector polygons on the map, assign a team to each, and track the coverage percentage per sector as tracks come in. Search area management stays visual during the operation, so the gap between assigned ground and searched ground shows up while you can still act on it, not at the debrief.

Rescuers see their own sector on the mission map in the field app, next to their teammates, the base and the last-seen point. For the method behind the polygons (size, terrain features, probability), read how to divide a search area.

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04Mission management

Every callout becomes a structured mission with a clear lifecycle: create, activate, track and close. Everything that happens in between lands on one record, in order, with a time next to it.

• Mission creation with base locations, the last-seen point and the first sectors.
• Teams and assignments: which tactical team is on which sector, with which leader.
• Missing persons: last-seen points with search radii and found-person status.
• Operational log: a live, timestamped event log of the mission as it unfolds.
• Mission timeline and after-action report, generated from the record when the mission closes.
• Mission chat, broadcasts and push notifications, next to the map rather than in a separate app.

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05Rescuer management

A coordinator needs to know who is qualified before building a team, not after. Every rescuer has a profile with certifications, training level, specializations, medical information, employment history and the regions they belong to, plus an NFC rescuer card. The roster is searchable and filters by role and region.

From the same roster you build tactical teams, assign a leader and a callsign, and put them on a mission in seconds. Certificates themselves can live in the document library, shared with the member they belong to or restricted by role. Volunteer organizations will find the detail in volunteer search and rescue.

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06Equipment and vehicle management

This is where Redoto Rescue goes beyond mission tracking software. A search runs on gear, stock and vehicles, and at 02:00 you need to know which thermal camera is charged, which rope is past its retirement date and whether the second vehicle came back with a full tank.

• Warehouse and equipment: QR / barcode inventory by region and location, with status, condition and a full movement log.
• Consumables and stock: units, batches and expiry dates, minimum stock alerts, every movement logged.
• Loans and agreements: request, approve, issue and return, with pickup and return photos and signed PDF agreements.
• Vehicle fleet: status, fuel, mileage, registration and callsigns.
• Maintenance: service history for equipment and vehicles with work performed, cost, provider and the next service date.

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The full workflow, from labelling to loans and service, is on equipment management.

07Mobile SAR app

Rescuers do not open a laptop on a ridge. The Redoto Rescue field app for iOS and Android gives them what they need in the field: one tap to go on duty and share position, the mission map with their sector and route, mission chat, alerts and tasking, and their own profile, roles and NFC card. It is built to stay usable at the edge of coverage.

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Every mobile screen is on the mobile app page.

08Built for real-world SAR conditions

Software for rescue organizations has to survive the conditions rescuers work in, and the organizations they work for.

Built for the edge of coverage

The field app is offline-tolerant: the phone keeps its satellite position without signal, and positions reach the command map once it reconnects. Radio stays your fallback for live contact.

GPS tracking

Live positions, recorded tracks and GPX routes on the same map as your sectors.

Role-based access

Five levels, from Super Admin and Region Admin to Coordinator, Rescuer and Observer. Each person sees what their role requires.

Web + mobile

A browser command center for coordinators and a native field app for rescuers, on one shared record.

Multiple regions

Regions, locations and region-scoped roles, documents and inventory for organizations that cover more than one area.

GDPR-ready

Location only on duty and with permission, invitation-only registration and a complete audit trail of sensitive actions.

09What the platform covers

Evaluating SAR management software usually means comparing a tracking app, a roster tool and an inventory spreadsheet. This is what is in Redoto Rescue today, in one system.

Built specifically for search and rescue organizations, rather than adapted from generic workforce software.

10Who uses Redoto Rescue

• Mountain rescue services running multi-team searches in steep terrain. See mountain rescue.
• Volunteer SAR teams that need operational structure without a dispatch centre or an IT budget. See volunteer search and rescue.
• Fire and civil-protection units coordinating field teams, vehicles and equipment on the same operation.
• Emergency-response organizations covering several regions with one system and region-scoped access.

11Learn more about SAR software

New to the category? Start with what search and rescue software is, then use the 10 features every SAR management platform should have as a checklist when you compare systems. For the operational side, the first 60 minutes of a SAR callout shows where software helps and where it does not.