Our Members
Command Staff
Chief Diane & K9 Deacon
Chief Diane Stefanick has been involved with Northstar Search and Rescue for more than 15 years. She and her K-9 partner, Deacon are certified in HRD and Tracking/Trailing.
Deputy Chief Ross & K9 Bosco
Deputy Chief Ross Butterfield has been involved with Northstar Search and Rescue for more than seven years. He and his K-9 partner, Bosco are certified in Tracking/Trailing.
Handlers and SARTechs
Handlers Heath and Trish and K9s Cinder and Sophie
Heath is certified with K-9 Cinder in Tracking/Trailing and K-9 Sophie in HRD. Trish is NASAR SARTECH II certified.
Handler Lisa & K9 Thunder
Lisa Meadows is SAR Tech II certified and a handler for K9 Thunder. She has a B.S. in meteorology and provides forecasts for Northstar training and searches.
Handler Joan & K9s Scount and Aster
Joan joined Northstar in 2018. Her K9 Scount is training in Tracking/Trailing and her K9 Astor is certified in HRD.
Hander MJ & K9 Lycan
MJ has been a part of Northstar for several years Her K9 Lycan is certified in Tracking/Trailing.
SARTech Michael
Michael views it as very fortunate that his employment at Better Business Bureau allows him to take off on short notice for searches. He is also active in martial arts and bagpiping.
Handler KJ & K9 Rose
KJ joined Northstar in 2019 and her K9 Rose is certified in HRD.
Handler Jenny & K9 Cider
Jenny has been a member of Northstar for several years and her K9 Cider is certified in Area Search.
Handler Nick & K9s Liberty and Hope
Nick joined the team in 2019 and his K9s Hope and Libby are certified in HRD.
Handler Julie & K9 Sully
Julie and K-9 Sully are certified in Tracking/Trailing.
Handler Uriah & K9 Summer
Uriah joined NorthStar in 2019. His love of the outdoors lead him to discovering the team. He and his K9 Summer train in trailing. He is Sartech II and First Aid certified.
Handler Andrea & K9 Oliver
Andrea joined Northstar Search and Rescue in 2020. Her K9 Oliver is certified in Tracking/Trailing.
SARTech Kevin
Kevin is an experiential educator in the Twin Cities, and he became interested in Search and Rescue as a way to continue to practice and develop his professional skills. Kevin considers getting to work with a K-9 team as a definite bonus, believing they are the best trained and generally best behaved dogs he has ever interacted with. Kevin is a Search and Rescue Technician II and a Wilderness First Responder.
SARTech Josh
Josh joined the team in 2019 and is a certified SARTech II and an EMT.
Handler Dan & K9 Senna
Dan joined Northstar in 2020 and his K9 Senna is training in tracking/trailing.
Handler Peggy & K9 Nashoba Lusa
Peggy joined in 2019 and her K9 Shobi is training in HRD.
Handler Ryan & K9 Grit
I have been working with dogs for over 10 years. After receiving my CPDT-KA designation I established H.A.T.C.H Dog Training. My main focus is solving behavioral issues and helping owners establish a stronger K9/Human relationship. Learning how k9s use their sense of smell to find missing persons is a fascinating science. Dogs are unique creatures, working as a team for the common purpose of helping people is why I started in Search & Rescue.
