King County Sheriff John Urquhart, County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert and other county officials paid a surprise visit to Fall City Elementary School Friday morning, April 22, to announce the winner of a special contest, to name the department’s new snow vehicle.

Near the end of 2015 the King County Sheriff’s Office received a light tracked snow vehicle, also known as a “snowcat,” from the Department of Defense’s 1033 program. That program provides surplus equipment to law enforcement and fire departments throughout the country.

The Sheriff’s Office invited Fall City Elementary students to name the new snow vehicle. The winning name was submitted by 5 year old Elena Traverso. “Scotty” was selected by King County Search and Rescue deputies from 250 entries received.

On Friday morning Sheriff Urquhart and Councilwoman Lambert were at the school to present the winner with a certificate and “swag” to Elena and her classmates.

“This contest was a great opportunity for 5 year olds to get to use their creativity to help their real life “superheroes,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert. “It is a fun interaction with law enforcement in a very positive way. We need to help build strong relationships with all our first responders.”

In January, the snow vehicle had its first mission and successfully rescued two hikers who were stranded in deep snow near Rattlesnake Ridge. In snowy terrain, the vehicle allows rescuers to get to lost or injured hikers and bring them down in a warm vehicle instead of using up to 30 or more search and rescue volunteers to carry the person out.

“There is a misconception that the Department of Defense program only supplies military weapons and vehicles to law enforcement,” said Sheriff Urquhart. “The majority of items we have received are non military items such as cold weather gear, gloves, flashlights and radio equipment.”

In addition to the Snowcat, the Sheriff’s Office has also received a surplus helicopter and related parts from the program. Guardian 2 is an old military Huey helicopter the department uses for search and rescue missions. It has the ability to carry equipment and personnel for a mission and is equipped with a hoist to lower personnel into a situation or lift lost or injured hikers out.