The Richland County Sheriff’s Department Marine Patrol Unit is an interdepartmental, all volunteer unit comprised of 17 deputies from various units in the department. The Unit was established as a cooperative effort between Richland, Lexington, Saluda, and Newberry Counties all bordering Lake Murray; creating the Lake Murray Marine Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force. Through federal grant funding, a memorandum of agreement was signed by the Sheriffs giving all four Counties’

Marine Patrol Units jurisdiction on all of Lake Murray. The original Marine Patrol Unit was started with the purchase of two 20’ Grady White boats using grant funds.

In October, 2008, the Department added a third boat that enhances the response capability of the Department’s Underwater Recovery and Marine Patrol Units.  The fire and rescue boat was purchased with special revenue grant funds through the Richland County Legislative Delegation.  It is equipped with a dive platform to deploy the Underwater Recovery
Unit during search, rescue and recovery operations with two 8-foot doors that fold down electronically for dive operations and rescue transport.

In 2009 the Marine Patrol Unit and department’s Underwater Recovery Unit joined together and are also used to support of our divers in the waterways of Richland County. It is an all volunteer unit comprised of 17 deputies from various units in the department

Lake Murray is 78 square miles in size with 649 miles of shoreline (approximately 50,000 acres), 41 miles long, and 14 miles wide at its widest point.  It is one of our state’s most visited lakes. The Lake Murray community has grown exponentially, and on most weekends, hundreds of vessels take to the lake to enjoy a variety of fishing, sailing, skiing, and diving activities.  The Richland County Sheriff’s Department Marine Patrol Unit along with Lexington, Newberry and Saluda Counties and in conjunction with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources keeps Lake Murray safe by maintaining a visible presence, conducting safety and compliance checks as regulated by the state and federal laws, and conduct property checks to homes and businesses on Lake Murray.

If you have any questions about Marine Patrol or Underwater Recovery Unit, please contact the commander of this unit, Lt. Mark A. McColman at 803-419-4879 or email at mmccolman@rcsd.net